Hila Mediouni

you’re not in my style

In my project, I talk about my maturation process as I experienced it as a girl who moved from the city to the country. Growing up, I was educated in 'Kibbutz' education and was always different in the landscape. I chose to differentiate myself from society in order to maintain who I am and my identity, which was reflected in my unconventional attire within the Kibbutz's school. I received a lot of comments that accompany me to this day, including my mother, who wanted me to fit in, the teachers, and my classmates, who did not readily accept me as different. I was always loyal to myself, but the comments I received led to a conflict between self-confidence versus lack of self-confidence. I expressed myself through clothes, the garment became a word, and an outfit became a sentence. The clothes I make discuss the struggle of being different in our society and discuss the serious issue of taste and style by the judgment of others, from cataloging through discrimination to disqualification. The project examines the existing frequency in the normative social discourse and wants to convey a message of freedom and self-love in any given situation. Materials: Swarovski, metal necklaces, sequins, lycra fabrics, stone embroidered fabrics, swarovski plaid fabrics, feathers, wool fabric. Working techniques: embroidery, manual Swarovski inlay.