Call me clueless or misinformed, but fashion isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions Palestine or Israel. Due to the political tensions strictly portraying these territories as a war zone, the cradle of civilisation has been forgotten for its creative values. But that’s not to say creativity has perished from these places. Reinstating the world’s perception of both Palestine and Israel as places of rich cultural heritage, Amit Luzon and Eyal Eliyah are the creative duo behind Adish. Even the brand’s name (Adish is Hebrew for “apathetic”) brings a complex understanding of their multi-cultural approach.
Based out of Tel-Aviv, Luzon and Eliyah are working hard on joining the worlds of streetwear and Eastern heritage together by using their contemporary ideas and influences of modern silhouettes, and embellishing them with tradition. Since their launch last year, the focus hasn’t just been on putting the two together visually – they have been collaborating with Israeli and Palestinian workshops on producing the garments. “The process is complex, as none of these craftsmen have worked with fashion brands before, and used to do mostly merchandise like pillows, scarves or rugs,” the duo tells us. For their newest collection, which is available to shop now, Adish decided to bring those elaborate methodologies into the retail space as they curated a special installation at Dover Street Market New York.
For AW19, Luzon and Eliyah have worked with Lakiya Negev Weaving factory, which brings together over 100 Bedouin women from the Negev area in the south of Israel and empowers them by applying their specialised weaving skills in the process. Its intricacy is on display via a loop video on an old TV, set between a rail of the new Adish collection and the traditional Bedouin textiles that made were also made in the Negev area. “The installation is the first part of a wider project we are working on with the aim of highlighting our work with the craft workshop around Israel and Palestine,” Adish boys explain.
The collection itself is reflective of its influences as much as it is respectful of the sources they come from – clean, sporty lines and Western workwear cuts are intertwined with embroidery that is evident of the time spent on creating these pieces. While streetwear so often becomes redundant due to its speedy cycle of hype that even exceeds that of high fashion, Adish are making sure the details are appreciated for the process rather than just their street style appeal. ”We worked with our Palestinian team on the hand-made embroidery, which we also used for our last two collections, and with two groups from Lakiya. One was doing the heavy weaving used in the coats, and the other one worked on a different style of Embroidery called Manajel, which are usually used to hold pieces of rugs together.”
The star of the collection is the hoodie with the Awasi sheep tassels, which was the first piece that came out of the collaboration between Adish and the Lakiya workshop. The jumper is also the focus of the video on display at the DSM NYC installation which will be showing until September 4th. But in case you aren’t scheduled to drop by the space before then, Adish have exclusively shared the short film, directed by Ryan Otoole Collett, with Ten. And after you watch it, make sure to make your way to Dover Street Market London, where you can also shop the Adish AW19 collectrion. Trans-Atlantic appeal, that’s where it’s at.
The Adish x Lakiya Weaving Factory installation at the Dover Street Market New York is on display until September 4th.
