Natalie Tahhan - Fashion Brand
What we wear tells a story. As mainstream fashion continues to evolve by incorporating styles and traditional motifs from cultures around the world, the stories behind these fashion choices reverberates with the echoes of a not quite forgotten past from cultures far and wide. In fact, traditional clothing offers a window into the past, reflecting on generations upon generations of a shared history that lives on in a vibrant celebration of colors, shapes and motifs, elevating the traditional into timeless aesthetic expression.
One Palestinian who has taken her passion for all things fashion to the next level is Natalie Tahhan, founder and owner of her self-titled brand, Natalie Tahhan SP. “Fashion has always been quite fascinating to me. Even as a child, I filled endless sketchbooks with designs, color, and anything I was drawn to really,” reflects Tahhan, as she fondly speaks about her early childhood memories that inspired her to pursue her dreams of becoming a fashion designer in her own right.
Right after high school, Tahhan decided to turn her passion into a profession and enrolled at the Womenswear program at the University of the Arts: London College of Fashion, where she learned how to adapt traditional design aesthetics into contemporary pieces of fashion. Afterwards, Tahhan continued to pursue her passion by collaborating and working with various design companies across the UK and the Middle East where she achieved considerable recognition and invaluable industry experience.
Launched in 2015, the self-titled brand ‘Natalie Tahhan’ is a ‘Jerusalem-based luxury womenswear fashion label, not only bringing international fashion expertise to Jerusalem, but offering luxurious high-end womenswear.' Tahhan’s designs ingeniously adapts a variety of motifs, patterns and colors as seen on traditional Palestinian dresses otherwise known as ‘Thobs,’ and converts them onto apparel items that appeal to consumers of all ages and backgrounds. Tahhan explains, “The concept is to weave traditional Palestinian elements of intricate hand sewn embroidery and print into contemporary designs, to create exclusive pieces marked by elegance and innovation.” She continues, “I am passionate about creating garments that communicate an aesthetic language which our client base can relate to.”
Tahhan is the sole creative director and head designer of the brand. However, the brand works with freelance seamstresses in Jerusalem, providing them with employment opportunities to secure their economic livelihood.
Tahhan delves deeper into the inspiration behind her innovative take on Palestinian fashion, “Coming from a background with a rich cultural history, I was definitely inspired by the historical expressionism of 19th century Palestinian embroidery, as it was a communicative language in itself. I wanted to bring this forward into my work and present these aspects and details to customers interested in contemporary methods in fashions.”
But ‘Natalie Tahhan’ is so much more than a just a brand, as it is actively reviving the production and textile industry that Tahhan explains has long been dormant. By infusing life into this industry Tahhan hopes to inspire other Palestinian designers to step up and support local talent by choosing to manufacture locally. However, While Tahhan is striving to make a change, there still remains some obstacles that impede the brands ability to maximize their international outreach, especially in terms of logistics and the sourcing of fabrics.
In order to spread awareness and reach people across the globe, Tahhan has established a strong social media presence via Facebook and Instagram to both share and market her designs. Active participation in tradeshows as well private viewings in different countries has enhanced brand awareness and facilitated the delivering of orders.
“I’ve always been inspired by fashion as an individual sense of expression. What we wear on a daily basis communicates our personalities, our interest and even how we feel, and I find that immensely interesting,” Natalie Tahhan.
While ‘Natalie Tahhan’ is still operating on a small scale, with the right amount of funding and support from investors, the brand will be able to open their own dedicated workshop and employ in house seamstresses to support local industry and development. Tahhan also explains how funding will provide the brand with the opportunity to participate in trade shows on an international scale such as FashionForward, which will not only boost sales but more importantly provide an international platform for the brand’s inherently Palestinian designs.
Embedded within the core values of the ‘Natalie Tahhan’ brand is the importance of supporting designs that are exclusively manufactured in Palestine. While Tahhan uses her designs as a platform to share the stories of Palestinians everywhere, shining a light on her home city, Jerusalem is especially important, “Throughout the design and production process of our collection, we are very adamant on creating something in Jerusalem,” says Tahhan. She continues, “The Palestinian Arab community in Jerusalem is almost always overlooked in the face of the larger and more vocal community of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. As such, there is difficulty in preserving our identity and place within Palestine.” As a result, Tahhan introduced the ‘Prints of Palestine’ collection which is aimed at bringing awareness about the diverse heritage and culture of Palestine through historical embroidery motifs.
Tahhan sums up the vision and future of her self-titled brand best, “I want people to understand the depth of history behind each design. Our core ethos is to continuously preserve and promote Palestinian identity by highlighting the beautiful and culturally rich elements of our heritage through contemporary fashion.”
To learn more about Natalie Tahhan's designs visit: http://www.natalietahhan.com
And follow Natalie Tahhan on Social Media:
For facebook users: @natalietahhan
And on Instagran: #natalietahhan