This body of work explores ghorba—the Arabic word for the condition of living between cultures, carrying both belonging and displacement simultaneously. This state of in‑between informs my design practice, shaping a perspective that is neither singular nor fixed. I approach fashion as a critical site where identity, politics, and culture intersect, and where contradictions are not resolved but embraced.

Through the lens of the Arab and African diaspora, the collection examines the intersection of tradition and modernity. My thesis interrogates the politics of cultural dress, and the ways bodies are read, restricted, and expressed through the textiles they inhabit. Each garment embodies contradictions: modesty and exposure, assimilation and authenticity, heritage and reinvention. By merging Moroccan motifs with androgynous silhouettes, these four looks challenge orientalist narratives and resist rigid definitions of Middle Eastern and North African identity.

Ghorba also honors the rebellious MENA women and indigenous lineages that inform my vision as a designer. Their legacies of defiance and creativity are woven into this project, which operates both as an homage and a critique. It is a dialogue between past and future, between inherited traditions and imagined possibilities. In asserting a space for creative autonomy, the collection defies conformity and emphasizes the complexity of diasporic identity.