Using old clothes, newspapers and other recycled material, five Palestinian designers help put on a fashion show in Ramallah Nov. 5. Their 30 outfits on display were created as part of a recycling project sponsored by the A.M. Qattan Foundation (AMQF).

Rami Kashou, a New York-based Palestinian fashion designer who oversaw the creation of the costumes and mentored the Palestinian designers, told Al-Monitor that the London-registered AMQF project included a workshop, a fashion show and a design contest. The aim was to create public awareness of the importance of recycling as well as to help promote design in Ramallah.

“When the project was launched in May, we studied and analyzed the style of traditional costumes by taking advantage of the permanent heritage exhibition at Inaash Association and by visiting the Museum of Palestine to examine artistic patterns and draw inspiration for our designs. Each designer had to create six outfits in a month,” said Kashou.

Simultaneously, the foundation called on the public and local companies to donate waste materials such as newspapers, cardboard and plastic for the designers to use.