The Keffiyeh was made publicly famous by the late Yasser Arafat, as he covered his head with it and fold it in the shape of Palestine.
When the keffiyeh was a smashing fashion hit, 20 years ago, it had no political involvement. Now it’s associated with Palestinian cause and it’s more than just a style touch.
From the black and white one worn by the Palestinian late president (and most specific to the rural peasants) to the plain white one (worn especially in the Gulf States), the red and white one (associated with the Jordanian army), the keffiyeh-inspired scarf is de retour at Urban Outfitters.
Almost a year ago they had to pull them off and issue apologies, now it’s all up and running again.
I think that having to take them out again it’s too much. I’m not looking at them religiously, I couldn’t ever, nor do they remind me of a special ideology. I see them as scarves and that’s the end of it.
Sometimes people just make too much of a deal from subjects that are not meant to occupy all that talk space and thinking area. It’s just fabric!
What’s your take on this?
(via racked, photos urban outfitters)
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9 comments ↓
I own one for years and it is a present bought in Palestine since I do support the Palestine cause. I’ve a bit slow down on this matter the last years……but that’s a political issue….back to the topic. My scarf which do I use daily, at home, for very practical reasons because it is great when it’s cold as a stola and it summer when it is very hot i use it as a sheet. It does isolate as well cold as heat! Wonderful quality. Now these new ones have not that desert-quality which I love so much. It is a trend I will not wear. Indeed it is just a scarf and I’m still really surprised how small our world has become, that I see it everywhere, in the streets here and in every magazine wore by models, celebs etc. etc. So just it is just a very popular trend scarf world wide now. Nothing less, nothing more.
P.S. Ah, I see my beloved Gucci Bacall High Heel Sandal now in black/ white as Editor’s Choice…hmmm…..I was already in love with the green/black ones…..
Adriana, wearing such a scarf is an political statement. I respect that, but isn’t it a little bit crazy that such an design is now world wide a trend?? Do people really know what is the background/history of the Arafat scarf? It’s just what Kpriss said it’s just fabric, and in my view a hype. I really don’t like this trend, whatever color or material they use. Now these days people don’t have any knowledge of history and especially not about the history of Fashion, that’s a pity.
I’m a scarf fan myself. I can find a fit moment and a place for each and every one of them, even two at a time. However, bringing symbols to the state of fashion trend will always get controversial. Being just a scarf like any, but worn to protect from the environment conditions, the keffiyeh doesn’t bare more of a meaning. It was enriched, in time, not by itself, but by those wearing it. I can only imagine it’s a difference between the original one and those over-trended right now and this must be in the quality of the tissue itself. Is it?
Why would it be crazy to have become such a world embraced fashion? Scarves have been in high style for few years already, why not wear them all? I think people would even wear a sari if it would become a trend sometimes. We couldn’t ever teach them all fashion history, at least we could let them know (it could be done, either with a campaign regarding the product, either by writing on the product’s label fragments of the original product’s history. Why not, after all? since we’re losing all that material and involving all that technique when designing and producing a label, at least investing a meaning into it, more than marketing).
The scarves look very similar to what special forces use in Afganistan. It seems that this whole miltary look is stemming from what is seen in alot of the US military types in the Afgan mission.
I personally love these scarves. I’m of Persian descent, my ancestry is traced back to the last king of Persia and I know very well the history behind the scarf, but that does not decide why I wear it. There is history behind every article of clothing, every color, every cut and every stitch. But just because Hitler wore red and black, doesn’t mean that anyone who wears red and black support nazism. It just means that they found a way to reinvent that color to suit themselves. Thats exactly what the scarves are. I personally like to fold them like bandanas and hang them out my back pocket while many of my friends like to wear them around their necks and some wear it as a hood with a jacket over it. Its fashion. And fashion is the ability to mold your surroundings to make yourself stand out… stop making everything political people.
p.s. These scarves are not worn as a symbol of power, oppression, militarism etc. They are worn to protect people in countries with extreme heat and or wind from the elements. So all those who say that the scarf is worn by the Afghany military, its also worn by the traders in Saudi. Its worn by he guys who pump your gas for you in Pakistan and its worn by store owners in Iran. Its not a political statement, its carrying culture across seas. If you dont wanna wear it, don’t, but don’t condemn others for it.
That’s exactly what made me write about it… It’s so sad when fashion goes political and when people taint the true meaning of something that’s supposed to bring beauty, diversity and proof of creativity in one’s mixed outfit. It’s a way to control minds without being too obvious - tell the people that what they’re wearing represents something they potentially hate and there you have a little revolution on your hands.
If you want to support the murder of innocent Israelis, like women, children and grandparents blown up at Pizza places, you should wear this scarf every day.
It is a political statement whether or not you see it that way. These scarves should be sold dipped in blood, because that’s what they symbolize.
What is up with you people and getting offended on behalf of others??? If Iranis, Afghan’s, and Iraqi’s have no objection to others wearing these scarves, who are you to say that it is a symbol of oppression or that it supports murder? I have yet to see anybody but a white American condemn these scarves.
Like I said before. These scarves are worn by many people in the Middle East, and then some. Just like in the U.S. if you wear a red bandana or shirt, or blue bandana or shirt, you aren’t necessarily supporting the Bloods or the Crips. You just happened to like those colors and like to accessorize with bandanas/rags/scarves.
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