KOKETIT’s Shira Barzilay: Blending Art, Fashion, and Interiors
EXPERTS 01.07.25
With her signature flowing linework and boundless imagination, Shira Barzilay, known globally as KOKETIT, shares her evolving journey across digital art, interiors, and soulful expression.
Q: Your work lives at the intersection of art, fashion, and interiors. How do these worlds influence each other in your creative process?
My motto is: “The world is my canvas.”
I strive to be limitless in my artistic adventures—though, of course, that’s impossible. We’re flawed human beings, and I’m constantly meeting my own boundaries. But creation is the practice of breaking them.
I’m naturally drawn to fashion and interiors, so they’ve always been easy, inspiring “canvases” to play with. There’s something thrilling about the merging of beauty, aesthetics, and function—art you can wear, or art you can live inside.
Q: You’ve been working on bespoke pieces for luxury hotels and private residences—what excites you most about this kind of project?
I’m humbled every time someone invites me into their world. That feeling of being chosen never gets old.
Working on large-scale projects like hotel pools or interior installations is incredibly exciting—it’s where art leaves the frame and becomes part of how people experience their everyday.
Q: How do you ensure each piece feels truly personal in these tailored environments?
I try not to get overwhelmed and instead stay focused on the core intention—the raw creation. I don’t let the pressure of the project interfere with the original spark. Staying authentic is everything, even when the stakes are high.
Q: Where do you look for inspiration—interior-wise or beyond? Any muses, cities, or eras that consistently spark your creativity?
Inspiration comes from the strangest places—it’s not about what I see, but what it sparks in me. Nature, especially the sea, always clears my mind. Paris is my favorite city—it stirs a kind of creative craving. Visiting exhibitions and museums will always be my number one source of inspiration.And Picasso—his art and philosophy have been my biggest teacher. He helped me find my voice. I’ve learned that in order to be inspired, I have to create space for it. Meditation helps. A clear mind is a doorway.
Q: What’s the most unexpected place your art has ended up so far?
Definitely as mosaic art on the surface of a swimming pool.
For years I playfully edited my drawings onto pools digitally—it started as a visual fantasy. Then a hotel in Bali reached out and commissioned a real Koketit-designed pool. That’s when I realized: even the wildest ideas can become real.
Q: What role does AI play in your creative process, especially when it comes to developing unique, bespoke pieces for interiors? Has it changed the way you approach design?
AI completely transformed the way I create. I’m grateful it came into my life after I had already established a strong artistic voice—otherwise, I might have lost myself in it.
With that foundation, I’ve been able to explore AI freely, using it to enhance and evolve my ideas. It feels like someone handed me a magic wand and said, “Go create.”
At the same time, it highlights the contrast between machine and soul. My voice is mine—no AI can replicate that. That duality is the space I’m most interested in right now.
Q: With fashion, there's often a fleeting, seasonal aspect—whereas interiors are more lasting. How do you navigate that tension between trend and timelessness?
I don’t pay attention to trends at all. I don’t study them, follow them, or try to predict them.
What matters to me is what feels true. I see myself more as an artist than a designer—I’m not trying to fit into anything. I’m just doing me, and hoping it resonates.
Q: How do you see your work evolving over the next few years—more tech-forward, more spatial, or something entirely unexpected?
Honestly, I have no idea—and I love that. One project leads to another, and suddenly I’m somewhere I never planned to be. I go with it.
I don’t believe in suffering for art. That “starving artist” idea feels outdated. I create with love and abundance and let the work take me where it wants.
We’re living in a golden age of creativity, where anything is possible. I just want to keep creating, stay connected to my truth, and let the universe guide me. That’s how I hope to relevant—not by chasing, but by listening.
Q: What’s your dream canvas or space to work with that you haven’t done yet?
The Las Vegas Sphere. That’s the dream. To see my art wrap around a space like that—so immersive, emotional, and otherworldly—would leave me speechless.
