“Tatreez makes my heart smile,” reads a caption on one of Nasiba Hafiz’s Instagram photos of herself wearing a white and blue dress with distinctive Palestinian stitching. Designers and creatives across the globe have started using emblems like watermelons and keys to showcase their solidarity — but Jeddah-based Nasiba has long been incorporating tatreez into her designs, creating one-of-a-kind upcycled looks with authentic Palestinian embroidery sourced directly from Palestinian women.
“With all the horrible things happening at the moment, some of the things from our region are slowly disappearing, so it’s important to me to keep techniques like tatreez alive, and support women, families and charities who do this work,” she tells MOJEH. Nasiba buys existing pieces from women in need of money and reuses the embroidery portions by transferring them on to new garments such as abayas, kaftans and even men’s shirts. “I love upcycling, recycling and reusing stuff that already exists. Instead of adding more into this environment and life, I want to help make a difference,” she says.
Nasiba has a penchant for transforming old items into new treasures — last winter, this manifested in wearable coats crafted from cozy, colourful blankets. “You always see them at your grandmother’s house, or your nanny has one — someone very dear and warm to you will have one of these thick blankets,” she explains. Purpose-driven fashion is Nasiba’s forte, as she emphasises that it’s possible for one to love fashion and getting dressed up, without being sucked into the shallowness of it. Her trademark upcycling aesthetic was inspired by her father, and the collection of neckties he left behind after passing away in 2006. “He worked between London and Jeddah and used to collect ties, in all different fabrics and prints,” recalls Nasiba, who used them in her first- ever collection in 2014. Printed ties have remained a constant feature in her designs, forming quirky and conversation- starting skirts, shirts and more.
From bespoke bridal veils to upcycled tablecloth-inspired dresses, Nasiba pieces together clothing that not only makes a statement, but also tells a story. Creativity has always been a focal point of the designer’s life — in school, she gravitated towards movement and the arts, and enjoyed acting in plays and performances. For one project, she starred in a film made by a group of her classmates. “It was illegal at the time for women to act, and they burned the film, so it’s no longer on file,” says Nasiba. “Now, we’re on a completely different side of this.”
Over the years as the Kingdom has transformed, Nasiba has also witnessed an evolution within Saudi’s retail industry, which once focussed primarily on high-end fashion houses yet is showing an increasing appetite for less formal and more experimental approaches to style. “I breathed clothes and fashion,” says Nasiba, who worked as a buyer and visual merchandiser for Saudi luxury department store Rubaiyat, after studying fashion photography and styling at Central Saint Martins in London. Alongside working with brands like Gucci, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent and Lanvin, she also introduced smaller, up-and-coming labels to the local market. “I remember noticing that a lot of the Saudi designers made either eveningwear or abayas, and there was this huge gap for local, cool, ready-to-wear that suits our climate,” she says. When she decided to start her own label, she knew sustainability had to be a part of its ethos. Aware of the fact that Jeddah is a major fabric importing hub with textiles from across the globe, she decided to source her fabrics locally, and collaborate with businesses within her community.
Nasiba’s atelier was previously located on the first floor of her home, but after the birth of her third child she renovated the room and moved her design space to a street nearby. “As the family grew, our home grew with us,” says Nasiba, who originally bought her house, located in Jeddah’s Ash Shati district, because of the patio area in the middle of the property. “All windows looked on to this patio; it has a very Syrian and Moroccan vibe,” she explains. After a few years, she covered the small patio pool, and then recently closed off the roof to make it a conservatory. Tabletops and shelves within this space now feature books about art, high jewellery and spirituality along with a collection of crystals, colourful candles and quirky ceramics. As one would expect, Nasiba’s home is as eclectic as the brand she built from it. “It’s lively, with good energy, lots of light and eyes everywhere,” says the designer.
Eye icons may be popular motifs within Middle Eastern homes, but they feature more prominently in Nasiba’s than most. Adorning trinket trays and woven rugs, dotting paintings and commanding attention on shelves, eyes sourced from Nasiba’s travels gaze from various walls and corners of her villa. Her obsession with the symbol isn’t purely aesthetic. “Ten years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare, benign tumour on my pituitary gland,” reveals Nasiba. “It really affected my body – I would get bad migraines and symptoms for years, and no doctor could help. I had an operation in 2023 and had it removed. But it’s interesting because this area is where the ‘third eye’ is, as well as your intuition. So I just became obsessed with eyes ever since then.” Of all her eye-emblazoned décor pieces, Nasiba’s favourites are the handwoven rugs she has custom-made in Turkey.
Featuring eyes in different sizes and colours, some are framed and hung as artwork, while others furnish her floors. One has been placed in her powder room, which features romantic pink tiles bordered with blue grouting to match a sculptural mirror above a minimalist sink.
Nasiba has lined her home in tiles of different colours and shapes, as well as carpets of varying textures and tones, all contrasting further with the riot of patterns found from floor to ceiling. Dining room chairs situated around a bold jade table are upholstered with purple pinstriped and embroidered cherry fabrics, while marble, glass and wicker furniture feature alongside leopard and palm leaf prints. “Someone once told me that it’s a talent to mix prints,” says Nasiba. “It comes very naturally, and it’s also part of upcycling and patchwork — it all works very well together.” When asked if there’s a motto she follows when mixing patterns, textiles and textures, Nasiba laughs, and says there are no rules to her method: “You just have to make it work.” Discover the collections
