Palestinian fashion designer's collection a beacon of resilience

As the war rages on in her country, Palestinian fashion designer, Sineen Kharoub, took part in the Modest Fashion Week in Istanbul with her collection that is steeped in symbolism.

“I have called it ‘From Dust to Light’. I have designed it with the Palestinian flag of Palestine and the keffiyeh that I’m wearing, the keffiyeh patterns,” she said.

Kharoub added that she was very happy to present her brand, Sineen Haute Couture’s wedding and evening dresses at the show for the first time

While her hometown of Ramallah is in the occupied West Bank, tensions in the area have been high with ongoing Israeli raids, arrests, and killings.

“The situation is very hard, we are still in war everywhere around Palestine. But we have hope, that’s why I chose the simple logo with the keffiyeh, because I believe in hope,” she said.

“We have hope in Allah that everything will be okay. And we struggle, we survive, we don’t give up. We have the strength to stay and to keep doing what we are doing.”

In some of the designs, models wore keys tied to their wrists symbolising the opening of new homes once the war is over.

Her beautiful collection drew applause and cheers from the audience.

“The brand is actually the guest of honour for me and the entire team. We revealed this year's theme by taking inspiration from her,” said organizer Ozlem Sahin Ertas.

“We said 'A unique fashion call for solidarity'. We wanted to underline the unifying power of fashion. We know that the only way to achieve sustainable success is to support each other.”

The prestigious annual Modest Fashion Week showcases Islamic and more “demure” clothing.

Alongside Kharoub, other designers including Sarah Shahade, owner and designer of Citizens of the World brand from the United States also contributed to the rich collection of designs in the event.