On the one-year anniversary of the establishment of the Design School at the University of Haifa, the first graduating class of the Fashion Design Department is preparing to present final collections that seek not only to formulate a new visual language but also to highlight questions of gender, culture, body, commemoration, and memory. The show will take place in the Design School building in the German Colony in Haifa. The collections reveal the sensitivity of the young designers toward the environment in which they live — whether it is life in Israel in 2025, or internal and personal worlds seeking expression through clothing.
From Japanese Haiku to Gender Trauma
Among the prominent collections: Hagar Landsman presents "The Way to Oku" – a men's collection dealing with Japanese haiku poetry and translating feelings and associations into moments of movement and transformation. The collection is based on black-and-white landscape photographs by her father, Shraga Landsman, which display layers of nature, time, and memory.
At the other end of the spectrum, Rotem Tashma presents "Gender Trauma" – a women's collection dealing with gender trauma and how daily experiences shape women’s identities. The collection aims to illuminate the constant fear and caution ingrained in women from childhood, through the imagery of porcelain dolls and aesthetics associated with the Kinderwhore style.
Family Memory and Migration Journeys
Several collections focus on family memory and heritage: Neta Karp presents "To Grandpa, With Love – Neta" – a tribute to her grandfather Nathan Karp, an Israeli graphic designer who designed many coins and medals. Margaret Schnitzer, in the collection "The Anemone Journey," explores her family’s migration journey between Ukraine and Israel, combining traditional clothing elements with contemporary cuts.
Nagah Nazzoura Hamoudi presents "Waves of Childhood" – a collection inspired by memories of childhood spent with her grandfather, who was an artist creating sculptures from seashells. The collection translates moments of intergenerational closeness into wave-like shapes and textures resembling shells.
Creative Process During Wartime
The war in the northern region in the summer of 2024 forced the institution to cancel last year’s graduate show. Therefore, it was decided to include collections from several 2024 graduates in the current show, who have since become young designers working in companies and independent studios.
"A fashion show at the university is more than a celebratory event – it is the climax of a creative, pedagogical, and emotional process that takes place within a changing and turbulent reality," said Dr. Rachel Getz-Salomon, head of the Fashion Design Department at the University of Haifa.
"This year, perhaps more than ever, our studio has become a space where design creation is both a personal journey and a social action," she added. "The process the students went through was not only design-related but also conscious, intellectual, and emotional – one that moves between the intimate and the public, between very private experiences and deep, broad social statements."
Additional Collections in the Show
Among other collections to be presented: Noga Emuna Avishar with "Oil and Water" – a collection examining the boundary between control and breakdown through transitions between homewear and outerwear; Yarden Solomon with "Touch-Down" – a men's collection addressing bullying phenomena and ways of protection through clothing with a threatening appearance.
Tao Berliner presents "Way of Life" – a collection examining work clothes as carriers of a personal story, inspired by the intimate environment where he grew up – a house of artists where no boundary existed between the studio and home.
Shay Manspeizer Levin concludes with "My Pussy Grabs Back" – a collection examining the concept of femininity through a personal and political perspective, using new iconography based on a renewed appropriation of chauvinistic concepts.
The professional mentoring process this year accompanied the projects of Shaul Aharoni, Shahar Avnat, and Aharon Ganesh, with special thanks to Prof. Lea Peretz, head of the Design School, for her academic vision and belief in the power of fashion to change the face of culture.
Getz-Salomon concluded: "Amid the joy of creation and the happiness of work, we remember the pain, hope, wish, and look forward to days of healing and the safe return of all soldiers and hostages."