Olivia Rodrigo in the brand's dress
Olivia Rodrigo saves Palestinian fashion brand
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- Olivia Rodrigo’s custom Nöl Collective dress gave Palestinian designer Yasmeen Mjalli’s struggling fashion brand a crucial boost after disruptions and the destruction of a fabric shipment.
Palestinian fashion designer Yasmeen Mjalli said Wednesday that Olivia Rodrigo’s custom dress from her Ramallah-based label, Nöl Collective, helped save the brand during a difficult period.
Rodrigo wore the handmade dress, featuring intricate traditional Palestinian embroidery, at a press event ahead of her inaugural Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival in Irvine, California, on Aug. 29.
Mjalli, who founded Nöl Collective in 2020, said the company had recently lost a fabric shipment after it was held and destroyed by ‘Israeli’ customs, while ongoing travel restrictions had disrupted production.
“I was genuinely like, maybe we should stop, maybe this is our last effort,” Mjalli said, describing Rodrigo’s commission as “divine intervention.”
The visibility generated by Rodrigo wearing the dress gave Nöl Collective a rare boost at a time when the brand’s future was uncertain. “Fashion is political no matter where you are,” Mjalli said. “We’re still here; we have not been forgotten.”
Read more: Olivia Rodrigo wears handmade Palestinian dress at charity festival
Based in Ramallah, Nöl Collective works with family-run sewing workshops, artisans and women’s cooperatives across Palestine, incorporating traditional Palestinian embroidery into contemporary designs.
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