Reykjavík Grapevine - jan 2020, Qupperneq 26

Takin% Out The
tRASH
Hide your flag, grab your spikes and get trashy
Words: Hannah Jane Cohen Photo: Isaac Eastgate
Fashion collection
tRASHY CLOTHING x HATARI collection
online @ trashyclothing.shop
“It was insane,” Palestinian fash-
ion designer Shukri Lawrence says,
looking back on the moment Hatari
pulled out their Palestinian flag
live at Eurovision. “I remember
going on Instagram and literally
every story was that one photo.”
But for Shukri, the act was more
than just a political stunt, it was
the beginning of a beautiful rela-
tionship between Iceland’s premier
anti-capitalists and his fashion
brand, tRASHY clothing. Now, the
two have teamed up for a joint col-
lection.
Two trash worlds
The 2017 origins of tRASHY lie in
the dichotomy Shukri experienced
between his daily life as a Pales-
tinian photographer and videog-
rapher and the brands his subjects
were often wearing.
“Everything I was
shooting was related
to what was around
me in the Middle
E a s t , exc ept t he
clothes were from
abroad,” Shukri ex-
plains. “That’s not
bad but it’s not relat-
able to the subject. I
thought, something’s
missing.”
To br i d g e t h e
chasm, Shukri decided he’d make
his own brand, and promptly be-
gan working on a line of t-shirts.
Enter tRASHY.
“I started with this project that
was basically bootlegging brands
like Marc Jacobs and Nike and tak-
ing issues that are related to the
Middle East and sticking both in a
juxtaposition,” he explains.
His most famous design fea-
tures a selfie of a group of women,
each wearing a Niqab, above the
Marc Jacobs logo. “These two dif-
ferent worlds that the West might
not be used to. You know, Niqabi
shoppers exist,” he emphasises.
Tween trash
From there, the tRASHY team
grew to include Omar Braika,
Reem Kawasmi, Luai Al-Shuaibi,
and Sereen Khass. Then, in 2020,
tRASHY was contacted by Hatari
to work on a clothing collaboration
for Eurovision events, press con-
ferences, and such. It was a match
made in trash heaven.
From the moment they ar-
rived, Hatari began wearing bits
of tRASHY clothing in all their ap-
pearances. “We tried to make it like
hints,” Shukri reveals. “Hatari are
wearing these earrings, but who
are they from? They were always
wearing Palestinian designers and
repping Palestine, even before the
flag.”
tRASHY then got
the band to work
as models for their
SS19 ‘XD’ collec-
tion, which was
inspired by the in-
ternet in the year
2010.
“It ’s a l l a b out
this confusion of
tween days seeing
emo/tumblr cul-
ture going on, yet
there was this whole other world
we were living in,” Shukri explains.
“The war and the occupation. So
this collection was a phase of those
scene kids colours, screen reflec-
tions, and online superficial stuff.”
Hatari proved ideal subjects.
“Seeing their spikes and emo-es-
que scene aesthetic, they were the
perfect models,” he concludes.
Trash code
Now, the two groups have re-unit-
ed for a joint collection, entitled
tRASHY x HATARI, with profits
going to Rainbow Street Org, ben-
efitting queer and trans youth in
the Middle East. The line is directly
inspired by Hatari’s run at Euro-
vision.
“We took inspiration from the
flag moment specifically, so we did
these flag hider pants, flag hider
skirts, and a tube flag holder bag,”
he says. “We also took inspira-
tion from ‘Hate Will Prevail,’ and
[changed it] to ‘Love Will Prevail,’
and ‘Hate Won’t Prevail.’”
But the graffiti-esque designs
go deeper, Shukri re-iterates. “If
you look closely, there are referenc-
es to older news, etc. Everything
is a secret code,” he reveals. “I am
waiting for someone to crack it.”
Trashy insanity
tRASHY will be travelling to Ice-
land in March for a fashion show of
their own. Considering their past
shows have included things like
makeshift border walls in front
of the audience, it’s sure to be a
flag-raising spectacle.
“It will be insane,” Shukri says,
somewhat cheekily. “And that’s all
I am going to say.”
following breadcrumbs on the
earth. I'm braiding many things
together as one.”
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“Everything I was
shooting was
related to what
was around me
in the Middle
East, except the
clothes were
from abroad.”
Palestinian fashion coming to Iceland
Kiss the Day Goodbye
12 December 2019 - 1 February 2020
CHARLES ATLAS
i8 Gallery
Tryggvagata 16
101 Reykjavík
info@i8.is
t: +354 551 3666
www.i8.is
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