Shenkar’s Department of Fashion Design presented 75 looks by 75 students at Canada Israel Tel Aviv Fashion Week 2026 on Monday night, offering a glimpse into the next generation of Israeli fashion talent.
The event combined craftsmanship, experimental materials, and personal and social storytelling. It opened with a live design installation, in which students created and transformed 15 designs in front of an audience, before a runway show featuring 60 additional looks divided into seven chapters: Body, Silhouette, Color, Tailoring, Craft, Local Culture, and Future Materials.
The collections explored themes ranging from illness and body image to war, the climate crisis, and consumer culture. Saar Shenhar, 20, who underwent cancer treatment after being diagnosed at 16, presented a tailored suit incorporating surgical sutures into its fabric, reflecting his sense of betrayal by his own body. Shia Shavit, 21, created a colorful coat from discarded plastic bags, drawing inspiration from the contrast between the vibrant streets of Goa, where she was born, and the waste scattered throughout the city.
Other designs addressed the loss of faith in peace and growing global polarization, using unconventional materials and exaggerated silhouettes to turn personal and political concerns into wearable statements.
Event honors fashion enthusiasts killed on October 7
The evening also included the presentation of the Hili Solomon Excellence Scholarship, honoring the fashion enthusiast who was murdered at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023. This year’s recipient was Almog Zohari Rosen, 25, a third-year fashion design student at Shenkar.
Last year’s recipient, Tal Zohar, has since won three awards at two international fashion competitions, including the overall Grand Prize at the Real Leather Stay Different International Student Design Competition and the People’s Choice Award at the Redress Design Award 2026 in Hong Kong.
“This year, we chose to invite the audience into the design process itself, rather than simply presenting the final result,” said Ilan Beja, head of Shenkar’s Department of Fashion Design. The show was curated by Beja, Idit Barak, and Ofir Ivgi.