Preparations have been underway for a year and already 6,000 participants have registered to take part. Thirty-five Kurdish and foreign designers are expected to showcase their collections.
Photo: KFW
“Some 6,000 persons have registered their names to take part in the project, the majority of whom will participate as models numbering around 4,000,” Darbaz Younis, the man behind the project, told Rudaw.
The rest are designers and volunteers whose effort will make the ambitious event a reality.
Of the 4,000 men and women who have registered from across the four parts of Kurdistan, Europe, and the US, 80 will be selected to showcase designers’ brands on the cat walk.
Models from other countries are also invited to perform, Younis said.
Photo: KFW
Harman Zero, who is managing the selection of designers set to showcase their work, said: “Of the abundance of people who registered as designers of clothing and fashion accessories, 35 designers were selected ... the bulk of whom are Kurds. There are Persians and Turks also among them.”
The designers “sew and prepare various clothing models, including Kurdish, casual, and formal clothing,” he said.
“We have encouraged the designers to use materials they can access in Kurdistan to adorn them,” Zero explained.
Photo: KFW
Diva Horin, a young designer from Sulaimani who is taking part in the project, said: “When I was a kid, I used to sew my clothes and those of my mother for my toys. I was dreaming of a platform where I would be able to showcase my designs. Kurdistan Fashion Week will make my dreams true.”
Novin Barwari, another designer from Duhok now living in the US, has prepared a collection named ‘Freedom’ consisting of T-shirts and sharwal – loose fitting trousers worn across Asia. Her T-shirts bear the Kurdistan flag.
The event will cost an estimated $300,000. Organizers are looking for sponsors.
Photo: KFW