Zaid Farouki for the fourth episode of Preserving Palestine

For GRAZIA’s fourth episode of Preserving Palestine, I invited Zaid Farouki to join me as we discuss the effects of western colonialism, the trauma that is trickled down through each generation, and how he decided to claim his own identity as a Palestinian.

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Zaid Farouki is no stranger to the fashion industry in the region, and has grown his eponymous label from the ground up from 2015. He studied design at Istituto Marangoni in Milan, before deciding to settle in Dubai because he “wanted to move back to the region to be part of the creative community that was rising,” he shares. “I knew that at the end, even if I had an American passport, even if I lived in Europe, my name or my total title will be hyphenated, right? At the end of the day, I’m the ‘Arab’ designer. And if I don’t claim that and embrace it, I’ll still be ‘Arab-American,’ people love putting labels on you.”

“At the end of the day, I’m the ‘Arab’ designer. And if I don’t claim that and embrace it, I’ll still be ‘Arab-American,’ people love putting labels on you.”

 

Zaid’s designs are anything but common, in fact nothing about him is. Whether it’s his unisex label or the unique inspiration he draws from, Zaid is as eccentric as he is daring. Perhaps, the years of generational trauma that has been passed down to him is one of the reasons for this, and I’m not just talking about the last 74 years. What I respected about Zaid was his determination to look further than most people do when discussing the Palestinian cause. Whilst the last 74 years are crucial to investigate when understanding the Palestinian plight, Zaid asks himself what got us to that point. “Half of us have ditched our traditional clothing. Because it wasn’t ‘Western looking’ enough, whereas at some points, it was against the law to wear traditional clothing because we were colonised.” He later went on to admit, “I want to fall back in love with the artistry and everything we had as a culture, holding on to our identity and who we are as a region. And I think that’s the most important thing, because we try to get furthest away from who we are, and maybe, in a sense whitewash ourselves.”

“I want to fall back in love with the artistry and everything we had as a culture, holding on to our identity and who we are as a region.”

As for his designs, Zaid has clearly taken inspiration from the cultures around him, and uses it to create stories through clothing. “We don’t create collections, we create themes, and it’s a celebration of, for example, a woman that walks into a palace and nothing lights her path except for candles, and candles drip onto her clothes as she walks through the night. And that’s actually the whole thought of our return. We talk about revival which is the rightful ruler of the region. She’s a female and she deconstructs traditional male clothing to further enhance her power because she is the rightful ruler as a female. In a sense, it is a celebration of who we are, a celebration of our clothing,” Zaid expresses.

It’s clear that there is intent that goes into every creation and design, and he’s found a way to become a story-teller without using any words; not only for Palestine but for the entire region.