How Kazna Asker’s unique upbringing allowed her to carve out a niche in the fashion world

Kazna Asker has something to say. You can sense it the moment you speak to her. Behind her doe-eyed exterior is a fierceness for doing “what is right” that is evident not only in her creations but also in her actions.

One of the first designers to feature a hijab on the runway at Central St Martins’ MA Fashion Show, London a few years ago, Asker has continued to challenge societal norms by voicing her beliefs. In the last few years, she has protested for Palestine, asking her followers to “stand up for justice” in her Instagram post, she has addressed her hometown’s race equality commission and made a short film entitled “Fight For Me, Sheffield” – that tied in with her first showing at London Fashion Week in 2023.

Asker’s designs speak volumes too, with each collection drawing on her experience as a Yemini raised in England. “It was always important for me to dress my community”, Asker explains. The result? – a unique fusion of traditional Yemeni prints and embroideries coupled with a very British aesthetic of tracksuits and tailoring.

When we speak over Zoom, Asker is sitting in her studio in the Northern city of Sheffield having recently returned from India. Surrounded by rails of clothing, it’s incredible to think that just a few years earlier Asker was designing her very first garment with her grandmother’s hand-me-down sewing machine. “I remember when I was 17, she [my grandmother] gave me her sewing machine. It was like a domestic sewing machine, and it was so bad. I didn’t know how to sew so I watched a YouTube video. I ended up making a jacket from a YouTube video with her sewing machine.” Asker reminisces.

For Asker, growing up in Sheffield meant constantly navigating a world of cultural contrasts “In my community, I would always see the aunties and my grandparents wearing traditional abayas and hijabs, and then next to them would be their son or their daughter wearing tracksuits”, she explains. She adds that this contrast was even more apparent at home where she would often visit her grandparents’ home on Sundays, “Their living room would be so traditional, full of the woven sofas, carpets and the curtains - and we were sitting there in our tracksuits. That was the main inspiration for my MA collection: Combining those two worlds.”

It was during this time that she was first introduced to Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA) and the work that they do to provide financial support, guidance and mentorships to emerging designers from across the Middle East and North Africa. “When I was at Central Saint Martins my tutor heard of FTA and suggested that I apply to it because of the Yemini influence in my work. So, once I completed my Masters, I applied. And that was it, it felt like everything just happened at once.” Asker adds, going on to win the prestigious FTA Prize for the Franca Sozzani Debut Talent Category in 2022.

Asker’s evolution as a designer is apparent, “I created my MA collection when I was quite young. At the time I worked with a lot of youth clubs, so it’s how they interpreted their culture” Asker explains, “Over the years I've tried to push myself and see different perspectives of my community. For example, I noticed, that my granddad and his friends, when they came from Yemen, only wore three-piece suits. So, I tried to push myself to learn tailoring and how to do suits.”

Fast forward a few years, and Asker has carved out a niche for herself by combining her passion for designing with her love for her heritage, “For my brother’s nikkah earlier this year we had a lot of events, so I went deeper into our tribal culture and our traditions, looking at what we would wear to weddings” Asker adds, explaining that she is part of the Yafa tribe that is often referred to as the ‘people of the mountains” amongst her community. “Our traditional dress is quite simple. It’s just a square piece of fabric with a neck hole and armholes which is dressed up with silver and tinsel.”

It was this that inspired her latest collection that she showed at Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) Lakmē Fashion Week (LFW) in Mumbai, India as part of FTA’s Guest Country Award - a trailblazing initiative that takes past FTA Prize winners to selectively-chosen countries around the world to foster an international creative dialogue between countries and simultaneously equip designers with mentorship benefits and financial support.

“The Lakmē Fashion Week x FDCI has completed 25 years and one of our key focus areas going forward will be international collaborations. FTA is the most credible platform in MENA and we are glad to have hosted the winners of FTA this season at the event. We look forward now to the FTA India Guest Country winner to showcase at LFW in 2026 as well as many more integrations between the fashion industries of MENA and India in the future.” Adds Jaspreet Chandok, Group Vice President, Reliance Brands of the collaboration.

“FTA aims to support emerging designers from the MENA region, celebrating cultural heritage and craftsmanship. Kazna's dedication to highlighting Yemeni traditions and narratives through her designs resonates with FTA's mission. Her work not only preserves cultural identity but also empowers communities, embodying the values FTA seeks to highlight” adds Marta Hraoui, Communications Director of Fashion Trust Arabia.

Asker’s final collection of 16 pieces continued to explore migration and heritage, blending Middle Eastern, and specifically Yemini traditions with modernity, all the while styled in a way that would resonate with Indian audiences. “I worked with a stylist there who helped me adapt to the Indian market” Asker says, adding that she took all her Yemini silver and scarves to India for the show which was then carefully styled, “We wear our scarves differently, around the head or on the waist, but in India I learnt to drape it around the front or over the arms” Asker added.

Her maturity as a designer and her willingness to challenge expectations is apparent, most notably in one of her favourite looks: An electric-blue abaya-inspired jacket and maxi skirt with contrasting traditional woven fabric inlays on the lapels, styled with layers of chunky silver jewellery and scarves, and completed with an over-sized hat that was an ode to Yemeni shepherds. “I wanted to re-interpret the traditional Yemeni shepherdess hat – this was inspired by my grandma’s journey because she used to tell me that she was a shepherd in Yemen.” Asker explains, going on to note, “I feel like that was like my main accomplishment, because as soon as my grandma saw the collection that was like the main thing she noticed. And then we made lots of matching bags and other things to showcase her journey from there to here. But out of it all, I feel like that was my favourite.”

Asker’s showcase marks a key moment of international recognition for her which will continue over the year as Asker shows at London Fashion Week as part of the British Fashion Council’s NewGen programme in September and then again in February. However, through it all she remains humble and “Right now I’m working with a lot of refugees and asylum seekers in Sheffield with their fashion projects,” she says of her plans. “I just want to dress the community”.