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QAMISHLI, Syria: In a shimmering dress, Efin Hissu strides confidently down a runway to the beat of Kurdish music at a fashion show in northeast Syria showcasing a revival of the minority’s traditional clothing.
Her outfit is a riot of contrasting patterns, starting with her full-length gown, a sienna shade overlaid with a delicate leaf-like pattern in dark brown and gold thread.
Over the dress is a black jacket, heavily embroidered in gold, and over her head and shoulders is a black, white and yellow headscarf held in place by a gold headpiece with dangling coins.
Such an outfit would not have been seen in public in Syria’s Kurdish regions in years past, under restrictions on the minority that also banned their language and denied them Syrian nationality.
But after Syria’s uprising began in March 2011, the government first relaxed some restrictions and then in 2012 withdrew most of its forces from Kurdish-majority areas in the country’s north.
In the wake of the withdrawal, the Kurdish community, who made up around 15 percent of Syria’s pre-war population, has worked to revive its language and culture, including its sartorial traditions.
“This show is the first of its kind,” said Medea Akko, 25, who helped supervise the fashion show held in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli.
“Our goal is to counter the marginalization of Kurdish clothing and to introduce it to society and the world,” she added.
“Before the Syrian revolution, we couldn’t even say that we were Kurds, but now the situation is different — I can wear my clothes and speak Kurdish in our streets and our cities.”
“Some people think that Kurdish clothing enhances beauty,” Akko told AFP.
“And I feel like I’m a queen when I wear Kurdish clothing.”
The show was sponsored by a local political party and featured 15 women and seven men modelling a range of traditional attire.
It culminated with the arrival of a model in a traditional bridal outfit: a red robe with a heavy gold necklace and a diaphanous red veil.