Kurdish fashion designer Lara Dizeyee 's creative roots aren't drawn from the usual stories of televised runway shows or teenage afternoons flipping through glossy fashion magazines.
Her story, instead, begins with exile during the Iran–Iraq War , when her family fled Saddam Hussein 's Baath regime after her father — a writer, poet, and singer — refused to report on the war.
"We were forced to flee [Iraqi] Kurdistan," she recalls. "They wanted my father to join the regime… Of course, he didn't. So we escaped, and our journey began through the mountains into Iran."
She was only ten years old at the time, moving through a landscape as uncertain as it was unfamiliar, crossing mountains and leaving behind everything she had known, fear ever-present as she tried to make sense of the unknown.
And yet, it's within that same journey that something shifted. "I was afraid. I was frightened," she says. "And then I heard a whisper — 'paint us.'"
Sitting on a horse under an open sky, surrounded by darkness and mountains, she began to reimagine what was in front of her.
What had felt overwhelming and obstructive started to change; in her mind, the mountains no longer stood in her way but moved alongside her, guiding rather than blocking the path forward. She continues, "That moment shaped how I understand design — not as something separate from life, but as a way of moving through it."
And in Lara's world, fashion has never been about escape or superficial beauty; it has become a way to process experiences and turn emotion into something tangible.
As she explains, design became her language when words alone weren't enough, and in that sense, fashion, for her, is survival.
That instinct to create only grew stronger over time, and instead of pushing it aside, she chose to follow where it led. What has emerged is a practice grounded not only in making but also in storytelling — one that draws from Kurdish culture while placing it in conversation with other traditions, connecting histories, identities, and lived experiences through design.
Because for Lara, fashion has "never been something superficial." It holds memory, it carries meaning, and it allows her to communicate something beyond the garment itself.
"I design so that I can design hope," she tells The New Arab . "Resilience… never giving up. But above all, I design a voice." Launching a vision By 2023, Lara brought that vision into focus with the launch of her eponymous label, dividing her time between Erbil and the United States.
"The reason I launched my label was that I needed to bring those designs out of my imagination," she explains.
"I was tired of seeing them only in my mind, and I felt I had to listen to that voice inside me. It kept growing, and I realised I couldn't keep them to myself anymore — they needed to be seen, shared, and allowed to breathe," Lara explains.
"I had pictured them so vividly, and the stories they carried, the messages they held, felt bigger than me. I knew it was my calling, and I had to bring them into the world. So, I did.”
Her debut collection, Dream , followed soon after, rooted in her connection to Kurdistan. It was photographed at the Citadel in Erbil , a UNESCO-listed site central to Kurdish cultural heritage and grounded in materials that felt personal — traditional fabrics and her grandmother's gold jewellery woven into the designs.
The response was immediate. The collection quickly gained attention, with each piece given its own name and story. Even when a design was inspired by difficult or painful experiences, it always carried a sense of hope and ended on a positive note.
"It may carry a sad story," she says, "but I end it positively… to empower those [who feel] you may have been through so much in your life, but it's okay. Life is all about up and down. You have to enjoy the journey, you have to experience it."
"You learn from them," she adds, "and it makes you a lot stronger." 'Never let the fire die' After Dream , Lara's subsequent collections explored emotion even more directly. The Fire collection, focused on passion and authenticity, was meant to remind women not to lose themselves to routine or expectation.
"Never let the fire die," she says. "The fire inside you is what makes you unique." Ocean , on the other hand, explored depth — deep love, deep passion, the kind that feels limitless. She compares it to a mother's love: powerful, protective, and without boundaries.
By this point, it was clear that Lara wasn't designing for decoration or trends, but for emotion.
"I design hope," she says. "I design resilience. I design, never giving up." From Paris to Milan When it comes to bringing her designs to the international stage, 2023 was a defining year for Lara. That was when she faced her first major global challenge: presenting her work at Paris Fashion Week .
With only a month to prepare 30 looks, the pressure was intense. Rather than starting from scratch, she revisited her earlier collections, refining and reworking key pieces to create a cohesive runway show that allowed her to share her vision with a wider audience while staying true to her storytelling.
Paris became a turning point. Designs that had once been personal were now part of the global conversation, proving that Lara's work could resonate far beyond her own experience.
The momentum carried into Milan. For Fashion Week 2025–26, she had nine months to create her most ambitious collection yet: Milan Enchanted . About 30 garments fused Kurdish heritage with Italian neoclassical architecture, creating a dialogue between tradition and contemporary design.
Traditional Kurdish motifs, colours, and symbols — from Nowruz to the Kurdish flag — were layered with Milan's architectural influences. Hand-embroidered tulles and reimagined brocades added depth and texture, while bold silhouettes kept the collection modern without losing its cultural roots.
Each piece carried meaning, from Ishtar Reborn , which explored the divine feminine, to Fairies' Spell , which delved into mysticism, while the collection as a whole served as a tribute to "silent mothers" and "proud exiles," bridging past and present, and included a striking design honouring Hapsa Khan , the pioneering Kurdish activist and leader.
"Hapsa Khan was the first Kurdish woman to rise as a leader, an activist and a symbol of empowerment," Lara explains.
As for collaborations, working with jewellery designers Al Azeez and Muna Darman reinforced the collection's cultural narrative and added layers of craftsmanship. Empowering through design Yet for Lara, the true measure of success is found far beyond the runways of Paris and Milan. While international shows bring recognition, what matters most is how a woman feels the moment she wears one of her designs.
"Anyone who wears my design feels empowered, confident, and regal," she says. "That's the feedback I constantly get."
At the same time, her focus on how a woman feels guides every aspect of her design process, with pieces that rely not on revealing cuts or dramatic effects, but on clean tailoring, careful fit, and subtle details that enhance the body.
"You don't have to show skin to be sexy," she explains. "It's about the shape, how the outfit hugs your body, the jewellery, the hair, the make-up — the whole ensemble. More than being sexy, it's about feeling beautiful in your own skin and confident in yourself."
As a result, the effect of her designs is immediate and noticeable. "They tell me, 'The minute we wear your design, we change. We feel like a queen,'” she says. "That's exactly how I want them to feel." Looking ahead Reflecting on her journey so far, Lara recognises that stepping back is just as important as moving forward, making space after each show to recover from the intensity of fashion week — the interviews, the orders, and the relentless pace.
As she puts it, "After a show, I always take some time off because it's very tiring," but more than that, it's a necessary pause, one that allows her to reset creatively.
"I need time between each show because, as a designer, as an artist, you need time to feel inspired… to go inward, to connect to your core, to reflect on everything before you do another fashion show."
At the same time, that stillness is met with momentum, as the aftermath of a show brings its own demands. "After a fashion show, you get a lot of orders," she says, explaining how the focus shifts almost immediately to fulfilling them, ensuring each piece is completed and delivered with care. Even as opportunities begin to build, she remains intentional about what she shares and when, choosing to keep certain projects under wraps. "I have a few things coming up, but I don’t like to discuss them now," she says, describing them simply as "really special," and preferring to reveal them only when the timing feels right.
Looking ahead, her direction remains rooted in identity, with a commitment to preserving and evolving her cultural narrative.
"I'm always going to design and keep it Kurdish, but then add my own modern touch to it,” she explains, hinting at the possibility of expansion in the future.
She adds, "Maybe I'll launch another line that's something different, but for now it feels too soon… the brand is only three years old." With that growth has come increasing visibility, including invitations to show in London, New York, and Dubai — opportunities she approaches with careful consideration rather than urgency.
"I can't just agree to something because it's a great opportunity; I need to do it when I'm ready mentally, because if I'm not, it won't turn out right — it is my name and my brand on the line, and I won't create something to please others at the expense of my own standards," she shares. Ultimately, everything comes back to instinct and timing, a mindset that underpins both her creative process and her decisions.
"I just know timing is everything," she says, before reflecting more broadly on the importance of self-trust: "A dream is never just a dream… It's your truth, your identity asking you for courage — step into it." Zainab Mehdi is The New Arab's Associate Editor and researcher specialising in governance, development, and conflict in the Middle East and North Africa region Follow her on Instagram: @zaiamehdi_ / @zainabmehdiwrites_