Profile: Dorka Lili Szabo – Real Leather Design Competitions

Dorka Lili Szabo

Artez University of the Arts

I am Dorka Szabo, a 25-year-old graduating student from Artez University of the Arts who is originally from Hungary. I believe in hard work, humility, and the respect of traditions and craftsmanship. As a designer, I specialize in menswear, focusing on tailoring combined with special fabrications and meticulous attention to details. I aim to create garments that are timeless and built on traditions while emphasizing the beauty of craftsmanship through minimal yet perfectly executed and detailed silhouettes combined with a contemporary approach where every single piece is carefully crafted with at least 20 hours of meticulous handwork. Designs that stripped down to their essence to capture the quiet authenticity and elegance of things as they are, while drawing attention to slow down, look deeper, and bring back the value of human hands’ touch. I desired to create garments for men of any age who have shown the signs of having lived, who scarred, and who have been moving forward in the circle of life while representing lowliness and discipline. For those who appreciate traditions, yet accept to grow and age, which altogether go beyond the realm of standard ‘beauty’, instead, embrace uniqueness and the graceful process of natural cycles.

← →

Chronometry [ Time Unhalted ]

Category: Apparel

Competitions: International

The piece is built on the fascination of the passage of time, and the traces it leaves, inspired by the Japanese Philosophy Wabi-Sabi which finds beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness while acknowledging the transient nature of existence and accept the inevitable cycle of growth and decay which has been blended with craftsmanship elements, and a minimalist, contemporary approach as a representations of true preservation of time and traditions. It embraces simplicity and the underrated uniqueness of scars, scratches, and challenges as a portrayal of having lived, and a narrative that conflicts past and present to merge them into something beautiful. It's stripping the design down to its essence to capture the quiet authenticity and elegance of things as they are This leather patchwork vest consists of 22 panels, which are first framed by blanket stitching, and afterwards are carefully hand-sewn together with lengthened stitches to create an open structure between the panels. It is further enriched with golden repairs that narrow down the burned-edge buttonholes, whilst the golden and hand-stitched detailing enhance the beauty of their object, making a statement of strength and fragility while representing the care and love of human hands’ touch as well as the appreciation of raw, natural materials.