Profile: Ofer Mantel – Real Leather Design Competitions

Ofer Mantel

Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art

My name is Ofer Mantel, I’m a 27-year-old fashion design student based in Tel Aviv, I am currently in my third year at Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art. Alongside my studies, I work at Verner Boutique as a sales associate and styling assistant during campaign photoshoots. Working closely with brands like Acne Studios, Maison Margiela and Toteme in the boutique, has strengthened my understanding of fashion, giving me valuable insight into craftsmanship, storytelling, and the relationship between clothing and the people who wear them. Studying fashion design is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Design has become the way I understand and experience the world around me. Through beauty, materiality, and craftsmanship, I am able to express not only my creativity, but also my values, beliefs, and personal perspective. Fashion, for me, is a way of preserving stories. I draw inspiration from culture, tradition, and personal heritage, exploring how the past can meet the future through contemporary design. I am fascinated by reinterpreting traditions in a modern way while preserving their emotional value, allowing them to continue telling stories of memory, preservation, and love. Through every project, I strive to create pieces that carry meaning objects that connect people to their memories, their identity, and the traditions that shape who they are. I recently completed a Sustainable Fashion course, where I explored the creative potential of reclaimed materials through the design of a capsule collection. My project won first prize and a scholarship, reinforcing my commitment to sustainable design and innovative material exploration. Through my work, I strive to create pieces that carry emotional significance objects that connect material, identity, and craftsmanship, allowing history and tradition to live on through new forms.

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SKIN BOND

Category: Apparel

Competitions: International

Our skin is the body's first protective layer. It separates us from the outside world while allowing us to live within it. It protects, regulates, filters, and responds to its surroundings. More than a physical barrier, skin is an intelligent living system that breathes, heals, absorbs, and constantly communicates with the environment. I see the skin as a greenhouse for the body—a protective system that creates the conditions necessary for life. A greenhouse is a protective layer, for plants and delicate living organisms. It regulates light, temperature, and humidity, creating a microclimate where life can grow and develop. Like skin, it is a dynamic system that constantly responds to environmental changes. In many ways, the greenhouse functions as an architectural skin, providing plants with the conditions they need to survive. In this project, I explore the greenhouse not only as a physical structure but also as an emotional and material metaphor. The skin becomes the greenhouse of the body, the greenhouse becomes the skin of the plant, and the home becomes the greenhouse of the soul. Although different in form, they all share the same purpose: protecting life while allowing it to grow. My grandparent's home is my personal greenhouse. It is both a physical and emotional place that has always provided me with security, warmth, and a sense of belonging. When I think of their home, I think of its familiar scents, textures, and the layers of time preserved within its walls. It is a living space that carries my family's memories and values, reminding me of who I am and where I come from while allowing me to build new layers of my own identity. My project is strongly inspired by the artist Lotus L. Kang, whose work explores the relationships between body, memory, material, and time. Her greenhouse installations and photographic series Skin investigate how light, objects, and time leave lasting traces on materials. Inspired by her practice, I also explore the greenhouse as a space where growth and decay coexist, while incorporating personal objects from my grandmother's home that represent my family's history, memory, and values.