“If the topic I am talking about, or the way I am speaking about it makes you uncomfortable, that’s not an issue within me," explains Sylwia Nazzal, the young designer behind the label Nazzal Studio. “I know what I am saying comes from justice and what’s right.”
Born and raised in Jordan and proudly Palestinian, Nazzal speaks with an eloquent fury about her cultural homeland and the ongoing mistreatment of her people. While studying fashion in Paris, this generational trauma became the backbone of her work, shocking her tutors and fellow students. “I was speaking out about Palestine at a time when the world didn’t really know what was happening,” she recalls. “So it was definitely an odd topic and I faced a lot of criticism. It was really difficult.”
When the events of October 7 and the subsequent onslaught on Gaza started making headlines, her work took on different meaning. “People started getting all these images on their phones and started to understand what was happening more, then my work became even scarier, if that makes sense.” She graduated in 2024, and while searching for work placements and internships in Paris, she found she was passed over because of the political nature of her work. “A lot of recruiters wished that they could have had me, but it was impossible. I just faced a lot of backlash already for creating my collection, and after October 7, even more so,” says Nazzal.
Discouraged, she decided to take things into her own hands, posting her work online. “It started going viral almost immediately. I was sort of forced into having the brand I always wanted to have, that I had dreamt of,” she says of being propelled into a world she had felt unprepared for. “I wanted to work in the industry and intern to understand more before I even considered having my own thing, but I was forced to dive right into it, and I am figuring it out along the way. I still don’t really know what I am doing."
Posting images from the What Should Have Been Home collection, a haunting look at Palestinian history since the 1948 Nakba, when Palestinians were expelled from their homes after the formation of Israel, and forced to find refuge in camps across Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon.
Comprising oversized amorphous forms, Nazzal’s work cocoons the body in voluminous puffer coats. Strikingly beautiful, with vast hoods and draped lengths that are clasped with zips – and often featuring sections that are tightly restricted – her work speaks of the glory of heritage versus a literal struggle for freedom of movement. The patterning of a keffiyeh scarf is reworked into a bridal lace veil, for people who are wedded to their lands, while faces are obscured, underscoring how language has dehumanised Palestinians. Elsewhere, a seemingly endless list of the names and ages of those who have been killed can be seen on the lining of jackets.
Filled with a surreal grandeur, Nazzal’s work is poignant and powerfully moving. “It’s very heavily and deeply rooted in traditional Palestinian dress. You think that a puffer jacket is modern and then to see that with a silhouette that resembles a hijab, that is a triangle-shaped silhouette,” she says, eschewing some of the more literal interpretations of Palestinian dress. “I take the idea of staying still rooted in traditional silhouettes but with an avant-garde twist.”
With Europe unsure of how to handle Nazzal, she returned to Jordan. There she was told about Fashion Trust Arabia, a non-profit in Qatar dedicated to nurturing and supporting emerging Arab fashion talents. “Finding out there was a Middle East competition in the Mena region was so empowering and exciting,” says Nazzal. “Maybe my work won’t be shadow banned here, and maybe my work would be appreciated here.”
Not only was it appreciated, she won the Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Award in November last year, bringing with it a cash injection, mentorship and a wider platform. “The win was really beautiful because I was representing Palestine. And coming a year after October 7, it was really powerful for me and a huge weight, winning with a collection about Palestine and the collection is very heavy,” she says. “I felt there was no better time to speak out about Palestine in front of a giant audience and a microphone.”
Bagging such a coveted prize has opened many doors for Nazzal, her work picked up by numerous stylists and editors, while being invited for interviews and podcasts. “The work I am doing represents something that is so much bigger than myself,” says Nazzal, a fact clear in the adoption of her work by popular Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna and fellow Palestinian singer-rapper Saint Levant, who has modelled her clothes.
“I need a little breather for the world to feel more comfortable about my work,” she says of her next, far less divisive, collection that explores traditional dyes, natural fabrics and historical techniques. “But I already know I am ready to go back into politics very quickly. I think that anything that makes people uncomfortable is art, and anything that makes people uncomfortable will face pushback. But I think that’s the exciting part, that you are bringing emotions out of people from just a piece of clothing.”
