Source from: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7423065.html
Nineteen-year-old Palestinian model Areen Anabtawi walked to the audience's applauds on a stage show in one of the halls in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, wearing a dress that mixed tradition with modernity.
Anabtawi said she joined this fashion show for the first time in her life. She said she was glad that she could have a role in keeping the Palestinian heritage and to encourage her classmates in college to wear these dresses in happy ceremonies.
The fashion show in Nablus is the first of its kind. It was organized by the Women Department in the municipality of Nablus under the patronage of the mayor and the city hall members in coordination with the United Nations Developing Program (UNDP).
The fashion show held in Nablus this week, included the show of 25 different designs of Palestinian traditional clothes that were inspired by various geographical areas in Palestinian territories. The traditional dresses are Palestinian traditional handmade.
Sahar Erqawi, the organizer of the project in the women department in the municipality of Nablus said the fashion show aims at keeping the Palestinian heritage and traditions and protect it from being stolen by the Israelis, adding "the dresses were a mixture of the old traditions and the modern designs."
"The designers of the clothes is Samar Abu Salha and Helda Afaneh. The fashion show also aims at opening a line of production to the market that includes various designs that attract women at various ages," said Erqawi.
Fashion show, the first of its kind in Nablus, was largely attended by women from the province of Nablus. The show was a joint effort of female workers and volunteers that lasted for four months at the Women Center in the municipality of Nablus, which was inaugurated in 2009.
The center was opened in cooperation with an Italian Association called Medinia Supports and Aids Small Projects, mainly for women. It also offers professional training in marketing, sales, finance, administration, accounting, negotiations and consultation.
"The colors were chosen in accordance with different times and ages. We chose the bright colors for young women and dark colors for older women," said one of the designers, adding "when such dress is shown, it encourages the girls who want to wear it because it fits them."
The two designers used the cloth and the designs that fit the current modernity in embroidery and textile that are used in making various kinds of dresses with various colors, artistic designs and the graphics that indicate the Palestinian heritage and traditions.
Most of the colors used in embroidery on the dresses are the red and pink on a black cloth background. The dresses, which were presented during the fashion show, had large parts of embroidery made of silk and had various graphics and a variety of narrow and large holes that simulate the modern designs and the tastes of the girls.
Around 18 young women and five girls from the city of Nablus had joined the show. They wore traditional dresses, slim and large that fits all kinds of ceremonies and occasions.
Rafif Melhis, director-general of the Women Center said the stitches that were put into the dresses "are expressing the Palestinian nature and the geographical area. Some of it had the shape of the pomegranate, others have the shape of the grapes leaf or the almonds.
"In the past, women were expressing their political views through out the stretch that it has in her dress. Our center is preparing to organize similar fashion shows all over the West Bank, " said Melhis.
Khalida Isteteyeh, the public information officer in the municipality of Nablus said the fashion show aims at strengthening the fair Palestinian cause and the Palestinian identity in the minds of the Palestinian young women.
Soft music was played during the fashion show, where the old and young models ended up the show with the white dresses of brides, which include the Palestinian embroidery.
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