Recycled fashion hits catwalk in Ramallah

Nisaa FM: - By using old clothes, newspapers and other recycled material, five Palestinian designers put on a fashion show in Ramallah on November 5.
Their 30 outfits on display were created as part of a recycling project sponsored by the London-based A.M. Qattan Foundation (AMQF).

The aim was to create public awareness of the importance of recycling as well as to help promote design in Ramallah.

 

Local inspiration in workshop, fashion show and design contest

Rami Kashou, a New York-based Palestinian fashion designer who oversaw the creation of
the costumes and mentored the Palestinian designers, explains that the project included a workshop, a fashion show and a design contest.

“When the project was launched in May, we studied and analyzed the style of traditional costumes by taking advantage of the permanent heritage exhibition at Inaash Association
and by visiting the Museum of Palestine to examine artistic patterns and draw inspiration for our designs. Each designer had to create six outfits in a month,” said Kashou.

The foundation called on the public and local companies to donate waste materials such as newspapers, cardboard and plastic for the designers to use.

Most of the donations from citizens and local companies were juice boxes and old wrapping paper, but according to Kashou the local community simply becoming involved in the
recycling process was one of the goals of the foundation.

One costume from each designer was placed in the window of a shop in downtown Ramallah in October to see how shoppers would react to the recycled designs. Then each designer produced five more costumes including evening dress and day wear for the fashion show. The final stage of the project, selecting the winner from among the five designers, is yet to come.

Participation from Ramallah designer

In addition to the contest’s environmental goals, it created an opportunity for designers to work with a world-famous designer and showcase their creations. It was a great opportunity for Maha Shaltaf from Ramallah, a designer who has been creating outfits from her home for 25 years now.

Shaltaf already recycles old clothes to make new ones at home, but using cardboards and plastic was new to her. She normally reuses embroidered pieces to create modern designs, which she sells to her acquaintances.

According to the project coordinator Fares Shaltaf’s designs fell naturally in line with the recycling project, which AMQF plans to organize on an annual basis. “Our challenge this year was to design outfits from recycled materials. In the coming years, we will target the furniture industry.”
The foundation will open its headquarters in an environmentally friendly building in Ramallah next year.

Source: www.al-monitor.com