A Chit Chat With Arabia Weddings: Fashion Designer Hama Hinnawi

You emphasize the importance of traditional embroidery in modern fashion. How do you balance preserving these techniques with the demands of contemporary design trends?

At HAMA, we view embroidery as a form of storytelling, each stitch carries a memory, a heritage, and a voice. We’re deeply rooted in preserving Palestinian and Jordanian craftsmanship, especially the handmade embroidery created by refugee women and women in marginalized communities. Balancing tradition and modernity is about respect and reinterpretation. We don’t dilute the technique; instead, we elevate it by placing it in dialogue with sharp tailoring, contemporary silhouettes, and minimalist palettes. It’s how we honor the artisans while ensuring the pieces resonate with today’s global, fashion-conscious woman.

To bridge tradition with modern fashion, I created the concept of deconstructed embroidery—a technique that combines substantial embroidered prints with hand-stitched embroidery layered over them. The idea is to fill the gaps in the pattern with the hands and voices of our people. In doing so, we emphasize that we, as refugees, are not just preserving our culture—we are actively rebuilding it, stitch by stitch. It’s how we transform heritage into something alive and unapologetically current.

For brides seeking to incorporate cultural heritage into their wedding attire, what advice would you offer to ensure their choices are both meaningful and stylish?

My advice is always: let your wedding attire tell your story. Start by identifying the heritage elements that hold personal meaning—maybe it’s your grandmother’s traditional thobe, a regional embroidery motif, or specific colors. From there, we reinterpret those elements into a design that feels regal, feminine, and relevant to your aesthetic. Cultural pride and elegance are not mutually exclusive. Our brides often end up with bespoke pieces that feel timeless because they are rooted in identity—not just trend.

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What emerging trends do you see shaping bridal fashion in the Middle East, especially regarding traditional craftsmanship?

There’s a beautiful shift happening in the region: brides are returning to their roots. We’re seeing an increased desire to wear pieces that reflect Palestinian, Jordanian, Syrian, or broader Levantine identity—not as costumes, but as empowered, fashion-forward statements.

Since we started, that shift has been especially meaningful—no designers were incorporating traditional craftsmanship in bridal or luxury wear at the time. Today, we see that landscape expanding, even among major names, which is encouraging. But the evolution is subtle: silhouettes are narrower, cleaner, and the embroidery is more architectural, more intentional. The quiet return to heritage is becoming the loudest statement.

You’ve recently expanded into the U.S. market—what has that journey been like, and how has it influenced your creative direction or brand identity?

Entering the U.S. market has been a transformative experience that expanded not only our audience but also the way we express our vision. Creatively, it pushed us to develop designs that bridge our cultural heritage with global appeal—pieces that remain true to our story, while fitting naturally into daily wear, red carpet fashion, and luxury retail. We’ve grown more intentional about offering collections that are rooted in sustainability, ethics, and purpose—fashion that serves as both a statement and a solution.

This journey also gave birth to a powerful artistic evolution: the launch of our embroidered wall canvas series—storytelling through fabric and paint. These pieces, now featured in galleries across Chicago, are an extension of our fashion—translating the same themes of womanhood, identity, and survival into visual art that lives beyond the runway.

One of the most defining moments of this chapter has been the reception of our latest collection, which has been warmly embraced by producers, celebrities, and curators alike. The designs have graced red carpets in New York, California, Michigan, and Chicago, and are currently being sold in select stores in New York. Their impact extended far beyond fashion—they caught the attention of institutions like the Palestine Museum US, which invited us to be part of the grand opening of their new location in Edinburgh, Scotland. That moment was a turning point—it proved that what we’re creating is not just fashion, but a cultural archive stitched with intention.

Our journey has included many impactful collaborations and guest speaking engagements at institutions such as the University of Wisconsin, the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), EMPIRE Records, and "Women Empowerment" event. We’ve led embroidery classes that honor cultural heritage and hands-on learning.

We’ve also proudly sponsored and donated to several causes aligned with our mission. We are currently exploring innovation through 3D design and technology, and we actively serve on the board of Chicago Fashion Week.

As Chair of Art and Culture for the Chicago-Amman Sister Cities Committee, we are dedicated to creating opportunities and fostering business and cultural connections between the two cities.

This expansion hasn’t just grown our brand—it has amplified our voice, deepened our impact, and reminded us that when fashion tells the truth, it resonates across borders.

Can you share a recent project or collection that reflects this new chapter for HAMA and what made it especially meaningful?

The latest collection was deeply personal. It was created amid heartbreak, honoring the women we lost in Gaza—women who once embroidered for HAMA, who carried our culture in their hands. Every piece was built with intention: minimal lines, structured elegance, and fragments of traditional patterns reimagined through raw edges, layering, and silence. Even the gaps in the embroidery meant something—they reflected absence, memory, and survival.

We didn’t design this collection only to be trendy—we designed it to speak. And it did. It sparked powerful conversations, caught the eye of producers and artists, and was worn by women who stand for justice. The emotional connection people felt with the pieces gave this collection its soul.

That response also opened the door to something even more powerful: dialogue. I was invited to speak at several events and panel discussions across different states and organizations—each one a chance to use my voice beyond the clothing rack. That’s when I realized the collection wasn’t just fashion—it was a bridge. It allowed us to connect fashion, advocacy, and storytelling in one space.

And maybe that’s what made it most meaningful: it reminded us that our purpose goes beyond creating beauty. It’s about preserving memory, amplifying truth, and empowering others to carry their stories with pride.