all clothing. Urban Legend by Kim Perets
Using laser cuts and 3D printing, Tel Aviv-based designer Kim Perets creates beautifully textured pieces that blend fashion with technological innovation. Perets began her journey with an education at Jerusalem’s Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, where her final collection earned her a spot at 2017’s New York Fashion Tech Week. After years of working for prominent designers around the world, she has since returned to Tel Aviv where she currently runs her own studio.
This series by photographer Tom Marshak captures Perets’ current creative output. Entitled “Urban Legend,” the series offers several patterned and sculpted pieces, playing with texture, form, transparency, and negative space. Schön! spoke with Perets to hear more about the series and her work.
all clothing. Urban Legend by Kim Perets
What can you tell us about the pieces on display in this photo series by Tom Marshak?
The jackets are made from nylon fabric, which is laser cut to create the checkers. It is stitched in quilt-like diagonal lines on top of the black mesh/denim fabric. The silver-pink dress is also laser cut to a modern lace pattern and stitched on top of a skin color tulle mesh. Those garments are for sale on my website’s online shop. The grey flowers dress is all handmade, stitched and is 100% recycled material. It is made only for rent and not for sale as all my dreamy flower dresses are.
What qualities about your work did you want Tom to capture, and how do you instruct him to do that?
There are so many details in each piece, it’s hard to take it all in one exposure. It’s important to me to capture the crossing of the fabric with the body, the windows I open in the garment for the skin to show, the volume of the garment compared to the body it is surrounding inside.
Where did you draw inspiration from to create these designs?
I call this series “Urban Legend”. It’s a combination of the inspiration I get from the city I live in, Tel Aviv, to my inner world inspired by legends and cinema. A combination of geometry and soft lines, the city has so many inspirations in forms of symbols and lines, and at night all that becomes a blur.
all clothing. Urban Legend by Kim Perets
When did you first explore laser cut and 3D printing? What made you want to incorporate these techniques into your fashion designs?
I started exploring laser-cut techniques when I was a second-year student in Bezalel. I love creating new patterns on Illustrator and bringing them to life in fabric. It’s been a strong desire of mine to try and create a new type of lace, make it more modern and urban and less romantic. 3D printing started when my boyfriend purchased a printer for our home and we started playing around with it. He helped me print out my design for buttons and buckles, and that’s how it began.
50% of the materials you work with are recycled. Why do you feel that’s important?
I came across so many beautiful materials in factories that go to waste because of a certain flaw that can’t be erased. Not only that it is synthetic and not possible to recycle, but it is also a huge amount to just throw away. I took it to my studio and found a lot of inspiration from the material itself with all of its unique qualities.
Apart from the materials you use, is sustainability something that’s on your mind when thinking about your fashion brand?
As a fashion designer, it’s impossible for me not to think of sustainability while working. I keep it in mind all the time and try to recycle as much as I can. I stay in touch with local factories and ask them to tell me before they throw away “ruined” materials. More than that the most important thing for me is cruelty-free, I am not using any material/fabric that has anything to do with animal cruelty.
all clothing. Urban Legend by Kim Perets
Discover more about Kim Perets’s designs here and make sure to also follow the designer on Instagram.
all clothing. Kim Perets
photography. Tom Marshak
model. Eden Farkas
hair + make up. Roza Shwartsma
