2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue Arabia
Culinary Couture: Celebrating The Region's Food Through Meaningful Fashion
One of the pieces they offer is a hand-embroidered t-shirt featuring a fenjen, a traditional Lebanese coffee cup. 'The fenjen has become a symbol for Lebanese hospitality and connection,' Tala tells me. 'Through these t-shirts, we were able to celebrate aspects of our Middle Eastern culture.'
Tala Barbotin Khalidy recently released a dreamy, detail-rich 'Booza' collection inspired by Lebanese ice cream. A white t-shirt hand-embroidered with an ice cream cone stands at the centre of the collection, though the "Booza' theme extends to tactile choices and colour palettes—think creamy ashta whites, soft pistachio greens, and fragrant rose hues translated onto crochet and silks.
For Khalidy, these fashion pieces help champion a shared regional identity. 'When people see these pieces, they recall specific memories - a sobhiyye with friends, stacking rose and orange blossom ice cream on a hot day,' Khalidy elaborates. 'The pieces help us capture the sweetness of these collective regional experiences while also claiming them as our own. At a time when Levantine culinary heritage is constantly being appropriated, it seems only right to wear it proudly across our bodies.'
The symbolism of food in fashion takes on even deeper significance in Palestine, where everyday ingredients have become powerful emblems of identity and resistance. One such icon is the Palestinian watermelon — its red flesh, green rind, black seeds, and white accents mirroring the colours of the Palestinian flag. Once used as a quiet form of protest during times when public display of the flag was banned, the watermelon has since evolved into a potent cultural and political symbol. As well as holding significant political weight, the watermelon also plays a role in Palestinian daily life and cuisine, with the fruit typically enjoyed in summer gatherings and sold by roadside vendors.
Brands like Native Threads are keeping that symbolism alive. The label offers t-shirts emblazoned with Palestinian watermelons and Jaffa oranges, blending fashion with activism. For every order placed, the team donates a meal to Palestine through Islamic Relief's Hot Meals in Gaza program. They also run high-impact fundraising campaigns where 100% of profits go to urgent humanitarian needs, supporting causes in Palestine, Sudan, Lebanon, and beyond. Lamsa, an artisanal crochet enterprise based in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, also sells handmade watermelon charms in collaboration with For Your Viewing Pleasure, a social justice apparel brand. The collaboration raises funds for Heal Palestine, a leading NGO providing critical support for children with severe injuries and amputations who cannot receive adequate treatment in Gaza.
As the region's designers continue to honour culinary culture through fashion, pieces like these serve as powerful reminders that food is never just food. It is memory, it is meaning—and in many cases, it is resistance stitched into every thread.
