ADISH "Fall-Winter '23 - Stolen Meadows-"

For centuries, Palestinian shepherds have relied on their ancestral farmland to grow crops, capture rainwater, and graze their sheep. Since the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, and for the last two decades, these rural communities have faced extreme restrictions and forced expulsions by Israeli authorities, putting their livelihoods and traditional ways of life at risk. Adish's Fall/Winter 2023 collection, "Stolen Meadows," is inspired by the unwavering determination of shepherds in their struggle to remain on their ancestral lands.

Before the hard border was imposed, herders could move freely between Ottoman and Bedouin tribal lands, with unimpeded access to pastures. Under Israeli rule, Palestinian freedom of movement has been greatly restricted, and large swaths of the West Bank have been designated "no-go zones."

"Home demolitions, live-fire military drills, roadblocks, the destruction and pollution of water tanks and other tactics are all part of a systematic attempt to drive Palestinians off their land and into militarized enclaves. Cracking down popular resistance and denying solidarity activists access to communities is commonplace. The Israeli settlement project further isolates these peripheral communities from their economic and communal ties to cities such as Yatta, Hebron, Nablus and Jenin.

Meanwhile, Israeli agriculture thrives in the West Bank. Settler outposts use agriculture and livestock farming as tactics to illegally control vast areas of Palestinian pastureland, violently preventing Palestinian access to the land. As a result of these repressive moves, Palestinian shepherds live under constant threat. In recent years, attacks by armed Israeli settlers and soldiers have increased, leaving Palestinians seriously injured and even killed.

This season's collection centers on the plight of the Palestinian people's struggle for freedom and dignity, highlighting the importance of agriculture and pastoralism to their livelihoods and traditions. The sturdy workwear, produced mostly in occupied Palestine, speaks to the resilience and strength of the community. Wool tailoring, the first since Autumn/Winter 2019, is sourced from both local Bedouin shepherds and Japanese producers. The focus on earthy colors in various shades of brown, green, cream and grey evokes the region's natural landscapes, which are essential to the shepherds' lives and traditions.

Ongoing partnerships with craft ateliers in occupied Palestine and Israel are key to Adish's mission to preserve culture through craft. Among them is the Rakiya Weaving Initiative, which uses wool from Bedouin shepherds to create traditional Bedouin handwoven nasij, which this season is featured as tassels on sweatshirts and sweatpants. Managel, a type of Bedouin needlework that resembles a single strip of embroidery, adorns a selection of woolen trousers and jackets.

Traditional embroidered motifs from Bedouin villages include scorpion branches, star disks and fruitless palm trees, while new graphics on t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts feature abstracted aerial shots of flocks in rhythmic formations and high-contrast depictions of the shearing process.