On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we spotlight some of the region’s most exciting up-and-coming creatives
Earlier this year, as the colonialist state Israel continued to impose violence and persistent ethnic cleansing on the Palestinian people, a young designer got in touch with Dazed, asking for help. After years of diligent study, forging collections from scrap nails, inspired by the ways in which Palestinians camouflage themselves against Israeli soldiers, Ayham Hassan landed a place on the prestigious fashion course at Central Saint Martins – only, he couldn’t afford to go. Thankfully, hundreds flocked to his GoFundMe to cover the costs of relocating, and Hassan made it to CSM.
Despite, and perhaps in spite, of the systematic oppression of Palestinians, a hive of fashion activity is emerging from the region. From the nöl collective, to Hannah Hamam, and Hazar Jawarba, Palestinian designers are using fashion as a way to both honour and exorcise their experience of life under occupation. And it has begun to traverse borders.
In the crush of lockdown, tRASHY CLOTHING launched the world’s inaugural Cyber Fashion Week, which, for the first time, positioned Palestine as a global fashion capital, bringing together creatives from Hong Kong, New York, London, Iran, and Jordan. “The internet has connected the creative youth and made it possible to collaborate on all our ideas,” says tRASHY co-directors Omar Braika and Shukri Lawrence. “As Palestinian designers, we find our own ways to adapt and navigate operating a brand in and out of Palestine. The fashion in Palestine is poetic, political, unapologetic, and is another form of resistance.”
Much like any other creative pursuit, the Israeli occupation of Palestine makes it near impossible to pursue fashion, meaning young designers are being driven out of the region – Brakia and Lawrence have been forced to operate from Jordan in order to sustain the label.
“We’re constantly adapting and creating our own ecosystems based on what is accessible to us,” they say. “For instance, when shipping orders into Palestine there are certain ways we package them as Israeli shipping companies confiscate items that they consider to be ‘political’, including any prints and symbols that represent Palestine. With so many obstacles such as separation walls, racist shipping companies, and censorship, the scene is still growing.” Still, the duo are careful to stress that there is a new wave of creative talent “breaking boundaries and introducing new visions to the scene in the region.”
On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we shine a light on six blossoming brands from Palestinian designers. Flick through the gallery below to see who should be on your radar.
tRASHY CLOTHING
Perhaps the most beloved label to come out of Palestine in recent years is tRASHY CLOTHING, which was founded in 2017. For co-founderes Shukri Lawrence and Omar Braika, fashion is satire. Together, they poke at pop culture, Middle Eastern politics, and low taste, in an attempt to “reclaim the Palestinian and Arab identity, and subvert what is considered different, cheap, and trashy in modern culture.” The brand’s AW21 collection, Errorvision, featured a Miss Apartheid faux fur sash, which exemplifies their tongue-in-kitsch approach to design. This year, the brand also collaborated with Berlin label GmbH, sending a t-shirt and vest emblazoned with ‘Free Palestine’ down its SS22 runway. The slinky designs were inspired by vintage graphics of Palestinian activism and sought to amplify the region’s fight for freedom on a global scale.
SKATEPAL
More than half of all Palestinians living in occupied territories are under 21 years old. Yet, for obvious reasons, cultural, educational, and sports opportunities are critically endangered. A non-profit organisation championing all the social benefits of skateboarding throughout Palestine, Skatepal recently released its first set of merch, becoming something of a cult label in the process. Founded in 2012 by Charlie Davis, who graduated from Edinburgh in Arabic Studies, the NGO started as a summer camp for young people and has since built some of the region’s first ever skateparks. With t-shirts which riff on the Patagonia logo, workwear-y caps, sticker packs, and cookbooks, Skatepal raises funds for youth programmes throughout the West Bank to Gaza City. Check out their merch here.
NÖL COLLECTIVE
Designer Yasmeen Mijalli was born to a Palestinian family who emigrated to the United States during her childhood. She attended college and lived out the majority of her life in North Carolina, but when her family moved back to Palestine, Mjalli followed. It was there she founded nöl collective, a brand and online marketplace which threads a web of female Palestinian artisans. As a result of military occupation, many Palestinians find themselves isolated from one another, many of whom will never cross paths based on which side of the border they fall. “Art is political, and thus, fashion is political,” Mjalli says, proffering a collection of amply-cut utilitarian designs, comprising gender fluid, oversized blazers, worker shirts, and swooping jeans. “These garments represent a collective over physically imposed borders, signifying an act of defiance in and of itself.”
HANNAH HAMAM
Hannah Hamam looks to fashion as a way to work through his experience of living under occupation as a queer person, translating his feelings of displacement via extreme corsetry, blown-out ballroom looks, and punkish deconstruction – all of which bind his work together. Think girdles and Kardashian-esque waist trainers forged from upcycled adidas tracksuits and scraps of snakeskin, metal mesh, and latex. Set to launch his debut collection in the coming months, Hamam believes “the most important thing as a fashion designer is to criticise,” noting “the beauty of being hardcore, special, and queer”. That sentiment can be read on his general disavowal of tradition – be it presenting twisted biker jackets or splicing second hand denim with rose satin for brazen cut and paste gowns.
HAZAR JAWARBA
Kindly kaleidoscope monsters crafted from thick vines of yarn inhabit Hazar Jawabra’s universe. Having learnt to knit from her grandmother – who learnt to knit from her grandmother – Jawabra’s work places traditional Palestinian imagery in the midst of her own internal chaos. As such, entire bodies are covered in head to toe, technicolour tendrils, swallowed in lumps and bumps of home-spun crochet. As she wrestles with the cultural expectations of young women in the Middle East, Jawarba never plans her designs, knitting in a freewheeling stream of consciousness. The result is emotional, unrestrained, and absolutely buck wild.
NNBYN
Launched in 2019, nnbynn is the upshot of Angham Khalil’s “struggle with her identity” and explores the nostalgia she feels towards Palestine. Though the clothing feels modern, much of Khalil’s inspiration comes from traditional Arabic garments, as she attempts to fuse the disparate worlds together. Her 2021 collection, Sudden Attack, is undeniably streetwear-inflected, with much of the offering made up of YEEZY-hued sweats and hoodies. But the pieces are imbued with emotion. Items are left raw-hemmed, so threads fly loose, embroidered lettering collapses into long tassels, and shirts distend into bloodied photo prints. If Khalil’s fashion ever felt neutral, it is, quite literally, splitting at the seams.