Kazna Asker’s final Ma collection focuses on community – whether it is my local community in Sheffield, the British minority diaspora or the global Muslim community. My creative world is for those who want to listen and want to take part in creating a collective change as we universally recognise that we are all Watered by one Water. In order to provide a true representation of community – I specifically focused on designing in pairs to change narratives and show the beauty in our brother and sisterhood.




Combining my British upbringing in Sheffield UK with my traditional Yemeni heritage, I chose to reflect both cultures within my work. I combined streetwear tracksuits, technical waterproof fabrics and sportswear details with traditional woven Middle Eastern carpets, Islamic garments and modesty.




Over the summer, I created posters with my graphics that asked three questions: What does community mean to you? Who inspired you today? What are you fighting for? I attended community and charity events to get as many community members to fill their answers, my cousins would take them school and my dad would take them to his friends (I created a supporting film to document the process). I managed to get over 200 answers from different ethnicities, different genders and different ages. In order to make my collection as interactive as possible, I printed their answers on the back of the garments – showcasing the voices of the voiceless.
The final outcome consisted of matching menswear and womenswear, tracksuits and Islamic abayas and thobes. The traditional Islamic garments featured technical sportswear details and the technical tracksuits featured traditional woven fabrics. It was important for me to challenge stereotypes associated with the Muslim community and recognise that we are cool people. I always knew I wanted to design for hijabi women as they are not authentically represented in the fashion world. The models in my Ma collection for the fittings and the final show at London Fashion Week were all my friends from my community.