To many, fashion is a materialistic luxury centred around aesthetics and lacking any deeper meaning. This couldn’t be any further from the truth for Israeli streetwear brand Adish.

Translating as ‘apathetic’ in Hebrew, Adish was born out of founders Amit Luzon and Eyal Eliyahu’s desire to raise awareness for the socio-political situation in the West Bank. Their wider goal is to use fashion as means for social change and to champion multi-national collaboration. Currently, Luzon and Eliyahu are unable to visit their own production centre due to restrictions on movement in the Westbank that sees them rely on Palestinian taxi drivers to chauffeur their collections across borders. The clothes which are cut and sewn in Israel must travel across the border to the West Bank where they are embroidered by Palestinian craftswomen. The commitment of these taxi drivers served as inspiration for their SS19 collection that featured graphics seen on the front of Palestinian taxis.

Adish’ collections are a fusion of contemporary streetwear with ethnic and Middle Eastern touches, thanks to the Palestinian embroidery. Each garment features a label stating the name of the embroider and the Palestinian village she came from, adding a personal touch for both buyer and producer.  The Palestinian women who worked on the SS18 collection served as the designer’s inspiration. Rose patterns seen on items in the SS18 collection had been passed down the generations for 150 years in a village called Beit Ummar.

And this is what differentiates Adish from other streetwear brands; they empower their crafts people and focus on the history and messaging behind their garments. Even the decisions made around the locations of their photoshoots carry a deeper meaning and aid the brand’s message of multi-national collaboration and freedom. Their SS19 campaign was shot at an Israeli national park next to a beach but the beach can’t be seen in any of the shots. The reason fuelling this creative decision was to highlight the restrictions on movement faced by many living in ‘Area A’ of the West Bank , who are as close as one hour’s drive from the beach but are unable to visit due to the restrictions they face on their movement.

We love the clothing form Adish, so we thought we’d share a few of our favourite items with you.