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Daria Kilemnik

Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art

My name is Daria Kilemnik, I am 26 years old and a third-year fashion design student at Shenkar College in Israel. For me, fashion is a tool for self-exploration — a language through which I express myself most freely. Each project is a step in understanding who I am as a designer, and how far I can push myself, and not necessarily about creating desirable clothing. My work often navigates questions of identity, memory, and emotional tension, using material and volume to reflect inner processes. To me, fashion is meant to raise questions, challenge what we know, and leave space for individuality and creativity.

Worn Identity by Daria Kilemnik - Garment Ensemble Exploring Identity | Inspired by leather and material fatigue

Category: Apparel

Competitions: International

As Israelis, we are born in a land of heroes and heroines, the brave and the strong. But what happens when the magic fades? What if I no longer feel like a hero? What if I wake up every day afraid, aching? When is it enough? When is it too much? When is the time to admit that this has become more than I can hold? Worn Identity explores the moments when belonging begins to crack — when belief wears thin and the emotional burden becomes too heavy to carry. The desire to start over grows stronger, while the will to stay — to hold on to the identity I was born into — slowly weakens. How does identity wears down over time? How does belonging becomes unbearable? To answer these questions I turned to leather — a material associated with strength and protection — and studied its aging. Through the natural processes of patina and material fatigue, I found physical metaphors for emotional wear. My faith has developed wear, which has begun to tear down the very foundations that uphold my connection to the place I was born in. I constructed a visual language around the tension between two archetypes: the Sabra, a symbol of rooted, heroic belonging in Israeli culture, shaped by ideals of toughness, self-reliance, and connection to the land — and the Migrant, a figure marked by displacement, movement, and alienation. I chose to keep all natural imperfections found in the leather hides I worked with — scars, creases, and uneven textures — as both an intentional design element and a reflection of my commitment to sustainable practice. The visible wear communicates a layered, emotionally charged narrative, aligned with the project’s exploration of identity. This work doesn’t offer answers. It sits in the space between holding on and letting go, between a longing to believe and the fatigue that dims it. A full visual catalog is included among the uploaded assets, documenting the research, process and final outcome.

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