Profile: Inbal Hefer – Real Leather Design Competitions

Inbal Hefer

Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art

I was born and raised in a small community in the Galilee, in northern Israel — a quiet, rural environment that sparked my imagination and fostered my passion for creativity from an early age. Surrounded by nature and a strong sense of community, I found joy in self-expression through art in all its forms. My love for drawing emerged at the age of three and grew over the years through continued exploration. I took part in a gifted art program, studied dance, and experimented with various artistic mediums. When I was ten, my grandmother introduced me to knitting and Burda magazines, opening a whole new world of creativity and igniting my passion for fashion. At seventeen, I received my first sewing machine — and from that moment on, I began creating garments and expressing my ideas through fabric and form. In 2021, I began studying Fashion Design at Shenkar College. I am currently in my fourth and final year, developing my graduation project . I am deeply passionate about exploring materials, textures, and colors as tools for storytelling. Fashion, for me, is a visual language — one that allows me to express complex ideas, emotions, and identities. Through design, I bring abstract concepts to life and connect with others in meaningful ways.

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URBAN FIELDS

Category: Apparel

Competitions: International

My starting point is the fable of the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. Through this lens, I explore the story of my grandparents’ immigration from Morocco to Israel in the 1950s, a time of transition from the cosmopolitan urbanity of Casablanca to the rural landscape of the Galilee. This cultural, geographical, and rhythmic tension continues to shape my own journey, from the scenery of my childhood in the Galilee to my adult life in Jaffa. I draw a connection between 1950s local workwear and elements from Moroccan culture. This outfit is made entirely of leather and incorporates a range of handcrafted technuques, including patchwork through laser cutting, a hand carved stamp used for manual printing on leather, and hand knitting with leather cords using two knitting needles. These techniques also serve as a personal homage to my grandmother, who taught me to knit. This outfit explores personal identity as an open space, one that allows multiple origins to coexist and interweave into a new, layered design language, both urban and rural, rooted in the cultural identity of my family.