HEN BRAHA: PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO
Good to know
Welcome to my online portfolio. What you are about to see is the result of a hard work, long nights and learning processes at Shenkar Collage of Engineering and Design and beyond. With my love for art and my passion for the latest trends, I knew fashion was my calling from a young age. As a young designer I'm hoping for a change in the fashion industry, on each and every project you can see my agendas: creating FEMINISTIC approach to fashion that is VEGAN and SUSTAINABLE. I’m proud to represent fashionable products that are fresh, original, and timeless. Check out my latest collection below.
BLUE DENIM
The Full Story
Take-off for the iconic blue denim.
As I started my research I noticed that the denim industry is one of the most contaminating industry on earth, that is mostly because of the blue wash, that is harmful for the environment, but also, because we consume it more than any other fashion item in our closet. With this knowledge I could not help but wondering, if the denim pants were originally created as a work pants and were made strong enough so it can never be ripped, and for the buyer to have it "for life", then why oh why, we consume it more than every other item in our closet? and why, most of the time, we cannot let the old pair go?
As I started to explore consuming culture, I got to explore also the Pop Art movement and one of my references for the project was the artist Andy Warhol and his duplication techniques.
As i went deeper and deeper into the project, i wanted to see and feel the process of sustainable fashion and recycling from the "inside", so I started volunteering at "WIZO" organization in TLV and experienced one of recycling stage on the way for sustainable fashion. WIZO donated most of the jeans that I used for the project, that contains over 120 jeans.
ACTIVE WEAR
Yoga and Surf
In this project I was inspired by meditation as a way of life. I wanted to make a comfortable yoga suit which allow women to practice poses without having to worry for the shirt to fall or the pants to move, so they will be able to focus only in this moment, the present, as in meditation. As a surfer, I was familiar with the need for designed and colorful surfing suits for women. I took Alex Grey's and Adam Scott Miller's paintings as references. I have printed all the fabrics in this project, the colored ones with my color pallets and those with my graphics on it.
PROSAMINARY
Second year, First semester: Restoration of a 17th century musketeer.
The requirement was to make it in red.
FEMINISM
The Full Story
Second year, first semester of my studying, as a women and an activist for women's rights, I wanted to engage in women's freedom for their body and clothing in today's patriarchal world. As we know, women's condition today about rape and Sexual harassment is not good, most of the time women that complains are humiliated and get to experience victim blaming, Additionally to environment hate and derogatory names. I research about the last time that women took a great place in history by taking the law to their hands, as the law did not treat them as equal, and got to the suffragettes struggle for women's right to vote at the early 1920's. I was inspirated by the London cops uniform, and the suffragettes arrest Incidents.
As I got deeper into the process and research, I ran into a slogan that I thought was correct for today, so I used it as a statement "The government is murdering women", as a victim myself, that got to experience the law injustice, I have changed the sentence and embroidered "ME" instead of "women". As for the color pink, I wanted to reclaim it, pink used to be the color for boys and men at the early 19th century, that was because it is a worm and daring color (blue, a calm color, was used for girls and women). the overall is all approachable for women to wear it with no outer help, zipper underneath to ease the toilet's processes, a wide pocket on front so there is no need for a bag.
It definitely was an interesting project which I learned a lot from and also got to heal parts of my soul.
ECOFEMINIST DRESS
This dress was made for my portfolio for Shenkar auditions. The theme is Ecofeminism, which is the term
used to describe a feminist approach to understanding ecology. I researched recycling, animal abuse, women and children abuse, Vulnerable populations, global warming and the impact of colonialism on the world.
As my research got deeper, I found an ecologic way to recycle Styrofoam, and I made a A cracked corset out of it. I used building materials such as silicone and sika, fabric hardener that helped me create the forms I needed. one of my references was the giant melting iceberg at the poles. I think I already knew back then: my project is not going to be all about beauty and trends, they will also carry my agendas.
Photo-shootings and Production
