PALESTINIAN EMBROIDERY

We first travelled to occupied Palestine in May 2012. Since then we have developed relationships with Palestinian crafts communities exclusively run by women in refugee camps and unrecognised territories.

During our first journey to occupied Palestine’s West Bank, we witnessed the extreme injustice and discrimination the Palestinian people were facing every day. In many ways it reminded us of our late father’s stories he had told us after visiting South Africa during apartheid in the late 80’s.

Despite the Palestinian people’s harsh and unjust reality, we realised that they were some of the most generous, kind and strongest people we had ever met. Their beautiful culture is rich in music, crafts, spirituality and of course delicious food. Wanting to share this rich culture with others we quickly learnt that Tatreez Embroidery is at the heart of their cultural identity. The practice of Tatreez Embroidery originated in Palestine over 3000 years ago and the unique motifs of embroidery signifies Palestinian heritage, especially for women.

Though we had great passion and ambition to start up a Palestinian project we soon realised the enormity of this challenge. Due to Palestine being an occupied nation controlled by oppressive policies to prevent trade, it was impossible for us to create structures and partnerships to have embroidery supplied and exported. This meant our idea of sharing the beauty of Tatreez Embroidery through fashion came to a standstill.

However, we never lost hope and kept believing in realising this project as a symbol of peace and co-existence through the arts as a contrast to the injustice and violence that have dominated the region for decades.

In 2019 we were introduced to Palestinian-Israeli brand Adish. They work with traditional living crafts in Palestine to counter the systematic erasure of Palestinian cultural heritage. Through their network of crafts communities and export structure it suddenly became possible for us to finally realise our Tatreez Embroidery Project in 2022.

Our first collaboration collection consists of sweatshirts and hoodies with total focus on craft, materials and quality. Instead of working with traditional Tatreez design, we chose the embroidery to be in our own colourways with iconic lyrics by the legendary Bob Marley, who represents the spirit of co-existence and the liberation of the people. Each garment is made from 100% natural Pima cotton from the Peruvian coastline, all naturally dyed with the highest organic certification.

This is the most complex production we have ever done and we consider it a cultural art expression, which we are very proud of.

Founded in 2018, Adish is an Palestinian-Israeli owned brand pairing contemporary silhouettes with traditional Palestinian craft techniques. Adish means ‘apathetic’ in Hebrew. They have chosen this brand name because the majority of Israelis harbour apathy towards the occupation and the oppression of the Palestinian people - and to emphasise that there is no neutral position on the illegal occupation of Palestine. They work with traditional living crafts in Palestine to counter the systematic erasure of the Palestinian cultural heritage by the Israeli government.

The brand was founded as a collaborative effort between Israelis Amit Luzon and Eyal Eliyahu, Palestinian-American artist Jordan Nassar and Palestinian, Ramallah-based Qussay K. The partners met through their associations with the Parents Circle Families Forum, an initiative that brings together bereaved families of Palestinians and Israelis who have fallen victims to the ongoing violence, with the aim of fostering reconciliation and sustainable peace. From this meeting, the idea of possible cooperation grew, and the connection between the nascent Adish brand and the Palestinian artisans who practice Tatreez embroidery was born.

All of Adish’s collections are made locally in Occupied Palestine and Israel, and the designs center around traditional techniques in the region. Hand-sewn Tatreez is produced in Ramallah, Dheisheh refugee camp and Hebron, where through their collections they are able to work with over sixty Palestinian craftswomen. Each garment is sewn with the location where it was embroidered and the name of the women’s embroidery group that produced the Tatreez.

As partners with the Lakiya Weaving workshop in the Naqab (Negev), Adish’s collections also feature embroidery, weaving, and tassels made by women from Bedouin communities in their traditional craft.

Behind this craftwork is a network of workshops and communities of craftspeople from Palestine and Israel with whom Adish collaborate on the production of all of our collections, with each craft distinctively representing the history and identity of its own region.

Each one of the garments is embellished with handmade elements representing longstanding Middle Eastern textile heritage. From traditional Palestinian embroidery to ancient Bedouin hand weaving, the cultivation of these artistries grow through collaborations with craft communities and local workshops. This has become the core of their creative endeavour.

Despite the logistic complexities, their central aim is to contribute to the expansion and flourishing of these workshops with every collection, while highlighting the crafts and the people behind them in each Adish piece.