DUBAI: Every designer has a story, but Palestinian talent Ihab Jiryis’s tale is rich in both passion and struggle — and his goals are as impressive as the hurdles he has overcome. 

Fresh off a successful show at the recent edition of Arab Fashion Week in Dubai, Jiryis spoke to Arab News about his path to fashion design, as well as his dreams of going global. 

The designer, who is based in northern Palestine, launched his label in 2010 after deciding this was his calling in life. 

“Ever since I was a child, I remember dreaming about being a fashion designer. To me the colors, the fabrics, the cuts, the shapes … this is my game in life, this is what attracts me. This is how I can express everything I am feeling or thinking, with visual concepts through what I design,” he said. 

“The sky is my limit,” said Jiryis, explaining that launching his own brand is not the only achievement he wants to secure. “My dreams are very big, and my personal and professional strategies have no limits. I know that with will and determination, people can reach wherever they want.”  

To that end, the designer is currently pursuing a PhD in fashion psychology. 

“I am researching the connection between the inside of us humans — what happens within us psychologically — and the outside, through clothing… how we can (convey the unsaid) through our clothes and what we wear,” he explained.

The designer added that the harsh reality of life in Palestine is what makes its creative talents so special. 

“The tough times or the scarcity that we live in creates bigger challenges for us and makes us, as designers, create more and express ourselves in artistic ways through which we can communicate with the world,” he said.

It is due to the hurdles he faces on a daily basis that Jiryis will not settle for anything less than “going global.”

“(I need) to be up to the standards that I have dreamed to reach,” he said, explaining that his benchmark for success is taking his brand beyond Palestine and the Middle East to the international market. 

Last month, Jiryis presented its Spring/Summer 2021 collection at Arab Fashion Week in Dubai.

The line included embroidered and feathered gowns that features thigh high slits, floor-length capes and royalty-worthy dresses in a striking color palette of deep black, elegant gold and powerful scarlet and cobalt tones.