Kurdistan Fashion Week (KFW) recently took place for the first time in the Kurdish capital Erbil (Hewlêr), where Kurdish and foreign designers had the opportunity to showcase their unique designs.
One of the primary aims for the show's founder, Darbaz Younis, was that he believed that “the people of Kurdistan need a break from wars and political crisis."
"Due to a series of unfortunate events in the Kurdistan region, and particularly the war with IS, the project had to be postponed," he told SBS Kurdish.
However, he said that he also wanted to show the world that there is another side to this region and that life is still going despite the negative image and destruction that the media covers.
“If it isn’t for such project, people can only talk about the war with IS, economic crises, and war with the Iraqi government after the independence referendum, when it comes to news about the Kurdistan Region," he said.
"But our project managed to show a beautiful side of Kurdistan, to the world.”
This unprecedented event was a dream come true for many local designers, where they could finally have a platform to show off their creations and meet others in the industry.
Traditional designs
One of those showcasing their designs was Hawar Mohemmed from H & L Designs. She told SBS Kurdish that she could now feel her “existence” as a designer.
Ms Mohemmed designs traditional Kurdish costumes and together with her daughters, they have had a huge success in reviving the traditional design of Kurdish attires. She told SBS Kurdish that KFW opened a new door for them, where many foreigners as well as others in the fashion industry got to see their unique handmade designs, and have shown huge interest in them.
“KFW was an amazing experience for me, it was historic, that has left a mark in my life…many people from other countries attended the event and saw our designs, they loved our work and thanked us for it," she said.
KFW founder Darbaz Younis said the planning for Kurdistan Fashion Weeks began in 2012, however, events in the region, including the invasion by IS, overtook everything.
In 2017 the Kurdistan Region of Iraq held its Kurdistan Independence Referendum, on 25th September.
However, neighbouring countries, as well as the Western Coalition, which had warned the Kurds, not to go ahead with the referendum, punished the Kurdistan Region for the historic vote in which 93.7 per cent of people voted for separation from Iraq. All border crossings, as well as airports, were forced to shut; the Iraqi army, with the help of the Iranian backed Shia militia took over the “disputed” territories that were abandoned by Iraqi army in 2014 when IS invaded Iraq. These areas had been Kurdish control until October 2017.
Mr Younis said that despite everything the will of the people of the Kurdistan Region to go-on is strong, and Fashion Week was proof of that.
“In this project we also showed the beautiful coexistence in the region - this event was a multicultural event, many other nationalities, ethnic groups and people of religious backgrounds took part.”
Over 400 people worked to run the show, including 40 fashion designers most of whom were Kurdish (from other parts of Kurdistan), 60 models (50 Kurdish, and 10 international models), 10 executive staff, and dozens of volunteers.
Darbaz Younis said that funding had been a major issue for them to bring the project to life, and that “finding sponsors for the event was not an easy task, most sponsors were happy to provide services, but it was the funding that we struggled with at first, before finding two major companies that were happy to help.”
He saids he believes that the next Fashion Week can only get better, after a highly successful first experience.
