To mark London Fashion Week, the Mosaic Rooms will showcase a new collection by one of the most promising young designers to recently emerge from the Arab world, OmarJoseph Nasser-Khoury.

Silk Thread Martyrs was conceptually inspired by the history and contemporary realities of the designer’s homeland, Palestine. Structurally and technically, the work draws inspiration from the traditional costumes and fabrics of that region and specifically the work of traditional Palestinian embroiderers, many of them refugees living in Lebanon or Jordan, who have maintained and developed the ancient skills of their lost homeland. Nasser-Khoury was inspired by the wonderful quality, rigorous detail and dedication of their work and, whilst creating his own collection, worked closely with them and with other local artisans and craftspeople. The result is a unique collection of outfits for men and women reflecting Palestine’s traditional and contemporary culture and its people: the farmer, the fighter, the martyr, the social worker, the refugee and, above all, the individual. Silk Thread Martyrs creates a new, transformed and subverted look that explores gender, duty and social constraints.

The collection features 22 individual garments, each unique in construction and design and made with the minimum use of machinery: embroidery, fabric, colouring and dyeing is carried out by hand, using natural materials such as indigo and tea. The design and production process of each garment will be explored through the exhibition.

OmarJoseph Nasser-Khoury was born in Al Quds (Jerusalem) in 1988 and grew up in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. His experiences of living under occupation and the restrictions imposed on his family and community have profoundly influenced his work. After finishing school in Ramallah, he went to the UK to take a foundation course in art and design at Camberwell College of Art before completing a BA degree at the London College of Fashion in Fashion Design and Technology.

PRESS