Previously hailed as the ‘Rising Designer’ in a British Vogue interview, Sylwia Nazzal, a Palestinian Jordanian designer and founder of Nazzal Studio, has become renowned for her oversized puffer coats, down-filled stoles, and massive bows.
But, as she recently disclosed in an exclusive interview with The New Arab, her designs encompass much more than creating beautiful and iconic pieces.
While flipping through her sketches, Sylwia explains that her designs also capture the realities of everyday life in Palestine, with some pieces depicting Palestinian citizens confronted by Israeli soldiers, such as one where a man’s clothes are stretched as three soldiers pull him in different directions, and another showing a man tying his jacket around his neck after being arrested.
“Everything I create stems from my culture — I can’t look elsewhere for inspiration,” says Sylwia. “I used to turn to Western fashion, but now I draw solely from the people and traditions around me. All my inspiration comes from Palestine.”
In sharing this, Sylwia adds that she incorporates elements such as the traditional tying of a keffiyeh, the curved silhouette of a hijab, and the graceful form of a khimar into her creations, all to preserve Palestinian heritage and culture amid Israel’s attempts to erase it.
Reflecting on her designs, she says, “You can see both their beauty and resistance simultaneously.”
[Courtesy of Sylwia Nazzal]
‘Carrying the weight of what it feels like to be Palestinian’
With most of her designs created for her graduate collection, What Should Have Been Home, one of Sylwia’s most iconic pieces to date features an incomplete list of the tens of thousands of Palestinians who lost their lives in 2022, written on red lining.
Remembered as one of the deadliest years in Palestine, Sylwia explains that this powerful piece serves as a reminder that these are real people, not just numbers and that the jacket is not meant to be sold or profited from but functions as an artistic statement.
“When you wear this piece, you’re carrying the weight of what it feels like to be Palestinian — the pain, the loss, and the resilience,” Sylwia says.
‘I learned so much about my heritage’
In addition to storytelling and preservation, Sylwia’s intentions, as she explains to The New Arab, also include expanding her work and creating a network of employment.
For example, one of her other visually powerful pieces — a shimmering skirt and hooded top made from 72 kilogrammes of Palestinian coins — was created by a group of Palestinian refugee women in one of the two refugee camps in Jordan.
“I wanted to work with refugee women, and when I did, I learned so much about my heritage. At the same time, I was able to share my work and experiences with them. Overall, the process of designing the piece became much more than just a design; it was about honouring their skills,” Sylwia explains.
Discussing the design process of the piece in detail, Sylwia says, “The coins are replicas of older ones that I bought from Al Balad, the downtown area of Amman. I collected them there. If I had tried to find antiques or traditional coins, it would have been a whole different story in museums, but these are all replicas.”
Sylwia adds, “When I started creating it, I didn’t plan to go so big with the coins. I was initially inspired by the traditional technique of using coins to protect from the evil eye or to adorn headpieces and other items. I thought it was really interesting.
“Originally, I wanted to use just a few coins for a hoodie. But as I worked on it, I felt the idea wasn’t truly capturing the culture in the way it deserved to be. It didn’t feel right. That’s when the idea of spiritual protection came to me. If the coins are meant to protect from the evil eye, then maybe they could also represent spiritual armour. So, I decided to go all out with the coins.”
‘Too genius’
To date, Sylwia Nazzal has achieved several milestones at just 23-years-old.
Her aforementioned graduate collection gained global recognition following the events of October 7, 2023, and in late October 2024, she won Fashion Trust Arabia’s Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Award, which included a financial grant and a tailored mentorship programme to help grow the winners’ businesses.
“Being a finalist at Fashion Trust Arabia was surreal. It felt like a turning point in my career — as if I was finally being recognised for the work I’ve poured my heart into. Meeting icons and celebrities in Morocco as an equal, not just a fan, was also incredibly empowering,” Sylwia recalls.
Beyond awards, Sylwia’s designs have been worn by prominent music artists from the MENA region. Palestinian singer Saint Levant wore her keffiyeh hoodie and camel trousers at last year’s Coachella, while Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna sported a lace keffiyeh veil and coin headpiece for a Savoir Flair cover shoot. Egyptian singer Felukah also wore a custom-made ensemble during her live performance at the San Diego Museum of Art in November 2024.
[Courtesy of Sylwia Nazzal]
Last year in Amman, Sylwia also had the unforgettable experience of meeting French designer Michèle Lamy, who, wearing Sylwia’s coin headpieces in her studio, described her work as “too genius.”
“Meeting Michèle Lamy was a dream come true. Sharing my work with someone I’ve admired for so long was so special. It’s a moment I’ll never forget,” Sylwia shares with The New Arab.
More recently, the introduction to Sylwia’s campaign film, What Should Have Been Home, a collaboration with young Arab Palestinian creatives in Jordan, was released.
Championing important messages
Looking toward the future, Sylwia has big goals ahead.
Although her brand is already ethical, Sylwia envisions further developing its principles to champion important messages that people need to pay attention to.
“I think we lack politics in fashion, even though fashion is inherently political. We’ve lost touch with what it means to have an ethical brand — one that embraces politics beyond the typical white feminism narrative and speaks out on issues that deserve recognition,” Sylwia says.
“For me, I see myself doing more collaborations with people of colour and using fashion as a platform to spread these messages.”
In conclusion, Sylwia adds, “Fashion is an art form, not just something transactional. We’ve lost the emotional impact of fashion — it’s all about trends and what’s selling. I hope to bring back the idea of fashion as art and a tool for social change.”
Zainab Mehdi is The New Arab’s Associate Editor and researcher specialising in governance, development, and conflict in the Middle East and North Africa region
Follow her on X: @zaiamehdi
