Interview of designer Eliran Nargassi
Photography by Merav Ben Loulou
The FW16/17 collection is the third collection that deals with religion and securalism, I can say it’s some sort of trilogy to my final project and my SS14 collection. The Secular Worship collection deals with secularism and worship. The worship idea is directly connected to something religious, that’s true to both Monotheism and Polytheism religions, and I added the word Secular in context to a personal perception of the BDSM world, as I see it – the BDSM culture is an entire religion, perhaps only in the sexual manner.
“Worship ” can have a religious but also a sexual tone, was it the starting point?
Exactly!
The worship idea can be totally interpreted to the BDSM world, as far as a starting point of my research of the subject came from the opposite world – the Jewish religion, and I searched for a way to blend them together in the designs and despite the differences to show a harmony between the these different worlds, it really reflects me today, an ex-orthodox living a secular lifestyle.
How old were you when you started designing menswear?
During one year in Shenkar college I took menswear classes, both casual and tailored, and I felt that this is my right spot, to design menswear. For my final project I decided to be a minority in my class and I designed a menswear collection, I was 27 back then.
How important is casting models for your designs?
Model casting is crucial for me, as a designer that is primarily active online the final lookbook and campaign is very important, is sort of a closure for the hard work on the collection. At the end the lookbook and its visuality is my “business card”, I have to sell a story through the lookbook. For the FW16/17 collection I had approx. 10 candidates for the lookbook until I found the right model with the right rough look, it couldn’t work on a model with a more androgynous look.
For the SS17 collection I chose a model with a more gentle look, more European and sophisticated. It truly depends on the nature of the collection and what it conveys.
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Shoes are designed and made by “Vasncrafts” for the Secular Worship Collection. The Tarboosh hats are a capsule collection by Eliran Nargassi X Justine Hats, inspired by the Secular Worship Collection.
