Duality Of Skin
Category: Apparel
Competitions: International
My name is Arielle and My project draws profound inspiration from Anish Kapoor's "Leviathan" - a monumental 2011 installation at Paris's Grand Palais. This massive burgundy inflatable structure, measuring 35 meters in both length and height, created an intimate, womb-like experience within its dark interior, embodying the tension between external monumentality and internal vulnerability. This duality resonates deeply with Israeli society's experience following October 7 - projecting external strength while harboring internal trauma and vulnerability. Like Kapoor's work, which merged the classical architecture of the Grand Palais with organic, modern forms, my collection explores the compelling dialogue between concealment and revelation. My designs feature rounded volumes and organic shapes, combining multiple cuts with both hand and machine stitching to create sculptural silhouettes that interact dynamically with both body and environment. The garments embody material tension through contrasting textures - soft sheepskin on the bottom portion and heavier cowhide on the overall structure, creating a dialogue between lightness and weight. Working with a dramatic palette of black, red, and burgundy, I've created pieces that reflect the emotional complexity and intensity of our current reality. The extensive hand-stitching serves not only as a finishing technique but as a meditative, Sisyphean process that deepens the connection between maker, garment, and wearer. Each piece functions as both protective armor and vulnerable revelation - garments that exist in the same paradoxical space as Kapoor's Leviathan, offering both strength and tenderness, concealment and exposure, monumentality and intimacy.
