Photo: VOGUE
KARACHI: Arooj Aftab has lately been dominating our headlines and for all the right reasons! While she’s busy making Grammy Award winning music, Aftab is also making some very bold fashion statements. And what better way to do so than during her performance at the Barbican Hall in London? Here is all that you need to know about how Arooj Aftab represented Palestine during her latest show.
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Aftab adorned a rust monochrome “custom raw silk suit featuring tatreez and block printing” which was designed by Yasmeen Mjalli, founder and creative director of Nöl Collective which has been described as “an intersectional fashion collective.” The suit she was wearing was a representation of not just her Pakistani heritage but also of the plight of the Palestinians. The suit, just like all of Mjalli’s suits, was made in the Palestinian refugee camp.
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Arooj Aftab has not shied away from talking about the tragedy that is Palestine and the, “Troubling history and sorrow of a land so precious deeply woven into a raw silk fabric, in a color of resistance and hope.” Speaking to Vogue, she shared how, “I’m really proud to wear garments made by people in Palestinian refugee camps. Oftentimes, there’s really such little hope, and you’re just confused as to what you can do that will actually mean something, putting on these clothes is a powerful symbol of support and adds a new dimension to my performance.”
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As far as designing the suit was concerned, Yasmeen Mjalli explained the thought process to Vogue, “When I started thinking about what I wanted to create for Arooj, I was drawn to how effortlessly she embraces strong, powerful looks. She wears blazers and capes with big shoulders and is commanding in her aesthetic. I wanted to emulate that in this piece for Barbican and her tour and give her a powerful presence on stage.”
We cannot imagine a better way to represent Palestine than how Arooj Aftab did! The singer is currently on tour for her album Love in Exile.
