SCHUNA by David Cohen – The 1ST Ever Virtual Graduation Collection Coming from Shenkar College, Israel

SCHUNA by David Cohen, is the first ever virtual final fashion project coming out of Shenkar College Israel. It is a virtual RTW unisex collection for his upcoming virtual fashion brand @Studio.schuna. that in part could not exist in reality. The collection asks questions about the basic connection of a body-garment in a world where a virtual representation of things is often more important than their actual representation.

“SCHUNA” or “ACT-HOOD” in English, is an An Israeli slang commonly referring to ghetto neighborhood residents, used to describe a lack of seriousness & disrespect. As someone who grew up in one of the poorest suburbs of Tel-Aviv David wishes to reclaim this term. The term Schuna is being commonly used when someone is acting inappropriately in an establishment, such as court or congress. So, what is the establishment in Fashion? And how can one make a Schuna out of it?

When studying the history of clothing or when even thinking of it the discussion is usually focused on Europe. David’s family came to Israel from Middle eastern countries, he got his first degree in the History of the Middle East, where he learned of the great Islamic and ottoman empires that existed in parallel to the European ones. “I know for a fact people dressed differently in these empires. But they are not being properly presented in the cultural discourse. Another missing part of history is the life and clothing of the common people, those surrounding me in my family and neighborhood.”

This collection is all about playing a stigmatized game between the white European culture representing the establishment and tradition of the fashion world, and the characters from David’s family, neighborhood and the cultures they bring with them from the empires of the Middle East and North Africa. The goal in this collection is to consciously “Act-Hood” and sanctify mixing and blurring between all of these without regard to the establishment and its traditions.

“I am a 33-year-old, from Tel-Aviv Jaffa, Israel. Fashion Design Bachelor Degree 2021 graduate from Shenkar College. I love learning and exploring, and so just before turning 30 I fulfilled a dream and got myself into Fashion Design school, at Shenkar College. As a Tech enthusiast, my last job was Algorithm Development and Programming for a start-up. I am currently working on a start-up I’ve founded within the tech-fashion industry. I am a person of mixing and combining. I like combining different worlds into hybrids, bringing together Realism and Humane, Technology and Art, High tech and Fashion. Before moving to Tel-Aviv, I grew up in One of the poorest areas surrounding it. My childhood struggles motivated me and formed my personality. And so, In my designs I try to convey my past, my locality, my views of the world, the culture I grew up in and the people around me.”

Fashion by David Cohen / www.davidcohenfashiondesign.online / @dudoush for @studio.schuna
Photography by Dan Yosefi/ danyosefi.com / Instagram: @dan.yosefi
Hair & Make up by Dana Yaffe / Instagram: @gayayaffe
Model Casting & Nails Art by  Stav Porges / Instagram: @stav.porges
Virtual Fitting Oren Eytan / Instagram: @oreneytan
Models Are   
Bar Ben-Shimol / Instagram: @bar_ben_shimol
Frida Uziel / Instagram: @friduchka
Jeanne Asimeng / Instagram: @_missjeanne
Fadi Daeem / Instagram: @fadi48