When Ayham Hassan started a Crowdfunder to raise cash to get him to Central Saint Martins back in 2021, he wasn’t ever really convinced he’d come close to hitting his target. 

The Palestinian designer had long been obsessed with fashion, descending into YouTube rabbit holes late at night to watch obscure clips of Alexander McQueen and Lady Gaga shows over and over. But growing up in Ramallah was tough for the wannabe designer – beyond the day-to-day ordeal of living at the mercy of the oppressive Israeli Occupying Force and its endless rules, regulations, and checkpoint restrictions, the fashion scene in Palestine is “very small and raw”. “Going into that industry isn’t really a thing,” he explains. 

Despite that, Hassan enrolled on a design course at Birzeit University, where his work caught the eye of teacher Omar Joseph Nasser Khoury. Khoury had studied at the London College of Fashion, and encouraged Hassan to pull together a portfolio of his work, apply for a spot at CSM, and figure out the rest later. It transpired that the leaders of the fashion BA course were as impressed as Khoury with Hassan’s exploration of identity and conflict, and the way in which he translated these themes into powerful conceptual collections. He got a place, and suddenly had to figure out how to get himself to London.

The Crowdfunder he created soon after securing his place thankfully caught the attention of Bella Hadid, who shared it on her Instagram story. The cash started rolling in, but between travel, tuition fees, and the actual cost of living, there still wasn’t enough to bankroll Hassan for three years in one of the most expensive cities in the world. But when Dazed published an interview with the aspiring designer, a brand stepped in to cover his first year, and Hassan hustled his way to securing support for the following two. 

Now, after three years at CSM and a placement year living his “Emily In Paris dream” working for Givenchy in the French capital, Hassan has graduated from the course he worked so hard to enrol on. “It’s gone so quick,” he says as we catch up over the phone, a couple of days after he showed his final collection as part of the school’s end-of-year BA graduate show. “I guess I’m a proper Bri’ish person now I’ve been here so long,” he laughs, putting on an exaggerated London accent.

With Hassan’s early collections offering up avant-garde silhouettes rooted in protection and concealment, the designer’s graduate offering elaborated on what came before. But where the garments he created while studying at Birzeit University came in muted colour palettes – not many exciting fabrics tend to make it into Palestine, thanks to Israel’s restrictions on just about everything – this final collection came in a cacophony of colours, ranging from rich royal blue, to deep purple, and punchy fuschia. 

“The heartbeat of the collection is Palestine and Gaza. It’s literally about Palestinian warriors and the resistant souls living through the Gazan genocide. The silhouettes draw on traditional Palestinian costumes, and I developed a new texture for each one” – Ayham Hassan

“The heartbeat of the collection is Palestine and Gaza,” explains Hassan. “It’s literally about Palestinian warriors and the resistant souls living through the Gazan genocide. The silhouettes draw on traditional Palestinian costumes, and I developed a new texture for each one.” The designer reached out to a series of art and film collectors based in Palestine and Jordan, as well as the V&A and the British Museum, to really understand the rich visual language of the region and weaved it throughout the offering. 

“I was blown away by the beauty and richness of our history,” he says. “All the motifs and textures throughout have been developed especially for the collection – there are talismanic designs intended to protect you and your soul from harm and evil spirits and a series of cross-stitch techniques linked to resistance that go back centuries.” Despite the additional difficulties he faced in doing so, Hassan was also intent on employing craftspeople from his home country to help bring his collection to life. “I worked with eight women in the West Bank who developed the embroidery for three or four months,” he adds.

Poignantly, his mother also contributed to the collection, despite not being able to attend the show since the borders of Palestine remain shut. “She developed a knit piece that was embroidered and crocheted fully by hand,” Hassan says. “It felt so important that she was part of my graduation, that she was there in some way.” Also important to Hassan was the way the pieces his mother and the women of the West Bank crafted made their way to the UK. “They travelled from Palestine like a Palestinian. Making their way through checkpoint after checkpoint, relentlessly scanned and surveilled as we are on a daily basis.” 

Despite all this, Hassan insists the collection is a celebration of the strength and resilience of his people, which has propelled him through a tough few years studying in London. “Of course it’s been hard, and I worry about my family even if they are in a safer area in Ramallah rather than Gaza,” he says. “But there is still so much joy and beauty in Palestine – I see videos of people dressing up, celebrating themselves, celebrating food, celebrating the resistance, even joking through the harsh reality of this horrific genocide. Even as a Palestinian it’s hard to comprehend the severity of the situation. But you still see hope. You still see kindness. You still see so much spirit.”

Now, having graduated from CSM, Hassan will be taking time to decompress, before he sets his sights on a job – hopefully here in London, or maybe in Paris. “Central Saint Martins was an amazing experience, but it wasn’t the easiest time to be studying,” he tells me. Not only was it unsurprisingly hard to see his home country being torn apart, there were times when he felt unsupported and outcast by the institution he had worked so hard to get to. 

“It was amazing to be surrounded by incredible fellow students, and my tutors have been so supportive,” he says. “But to be part of a school that at times didn’t feel very pro-Palestine was really difficult.” As ever, the final grad show was sponsored by L’Oreal, which is listed on the BDS boycott list and continues to uphold strong links to Israel, while UAL itself has also faced backlash for its connections with Lloyds Bank, which invests in companies selling arms and military equipment to Israel, among others. 

I know there are so many people who are against it and speaking out constantly on their social media channels, getting out to the protests, and making it known what is happening is not okay – Ayham Hassan

“I was surprised I even got picked to show my collection on the runway given the connection with L’Oreal,” Hassan adds. The designer decided to make a statement not just through his clothes, but also by sending his models out with their hands held up to the audience: messages on their palms read “Boycott L’Oreal”. 

Though some of his experience at CSM was hard, Hassan says he is heartened by responses to what is happening in Gaza within fashion. “I know there are so many people who are against it and speaking out constantly on their social media channels, getting out to the protests, and making it known what is happening is not okay.” Sharing a post or information on social media may feel like a drop in the ocean, but seeing people continue to talk about the situation and share information gives him hope for the future. “Not only in that the genocide will come to an end and Palestine will be free, but also that the fashion industry that I am so excited to be going into will change, too.”