Kazna Asker: Redefining fashion through activism

Kazna Asker is the British-Yemeni fashion designer bringing the warmth of her culture to the runway. Asker’s clothes tell tales of heritage, activism and the communities that shaped her. At 27, Kazna has already cemented her place as a rising star in the fashion world; her bold designs carry the pertinence of the cultural and political issues she chooses to address through them. From combining traditional regional fabrics with nylon tracksuits to organising fundraisers for Palestine and Yemen, Kazna’s work represents a new generation of designers looking to use every medium they can to better the world. 

Based between London and Sheffield, Kazna’s journey into fashion began early. “I’ve always wanted to create,” the designer tells Dazed MENA. “I have always been community and people oriented, and people who tell stories also wear clothes so everything kind of naturally developed into fashion and identity.” As a child, she spent hours drawing and painting across the walls of her family home. This natural inclination for visual storytelling evolved through both time and mediums, leading her to Central Saint Martins, where she became the first designer to showcase a hijabi collection at the MA fashion show. 

The desire to craft designs that represented those in her community was an organic progression: “I had never seen my local community being shown in an authentic way, a mix of tracksuits and abayas and thobes, so I guess I was inspired to communicate my city’s story through fashion,” she tells Dazed.

It’s this deep set connection to community and heritage that makes Kazna stand out in the fashion world. Her recent collection at London Fashion Week, What Are We Fighting For, combined tracksuits with customary woven fabrics and Yemeni-inspired skirts. The collection hummed with the duality of Kazna’s identity, integrating British streetwear—representing her Northern English upbringing – with the plush textiles of the Arab world. 

The collection was the centrepiece of a larger production that enveloped the audience from all sides and senses. The room was staged as Kazna’s grandmother’s traditional Yemeni living room, complete with Persian rugs, floor cushion and seating, the resinous fragrance of incense and traditional Yemeni tea and biscuits offered throughout. Visual storyboards depicting images of Sheffield lined the walls, books of Arabic literature scattered across the room, and a henna art performance took place—a dazzlingly immersive experience, redolent of roots and refuge. 

“Growing up I always felt like Yemen was left out of the conversation when talking about the MENA region,” Kazna explains. The designer observed that Arab culture was often depicted through the same few countries and voices, skimming over the diversity within the region. “I hope to see the scene expand—there are so many tribes and cultures that are undocumented with so much history and cultural heritage that makes up our region and I can’t wait for everyone to hear their voice.”

If nominative determinism didn’t give it away with her surname, curiosity is a substantial element of Kazna’s creative process. “I like learning and always being a student; knowing there is so much more to discover is so exciting,” the designer shares with Dazed. “There are so many more stories to tell and so many more techniques to express them and so many more people to showcase them to and so many more for them to tell their friends… But even if no one sees it, creating through wonder really hits different and fuels the motivation to just keep on exploring.”

Kazna’s work often raises funds for causes close to her heart. From volunteering with refugees in the Netherlands, to working with rural communities in Nepal and co-organising community fundraisers for Yemen and Palestine, the designer has raised over £20,000 (AED 93,377) for charity. “I hope my work can drive a more sincere approach to fashion, art, community and activism,” Kazna envisions aloud. “Representation is cool and I’m so grateful for all the platforms that rep me and support my message, but I hope I can use my work to create impact in real life and that involves me backing it up with action and changing the world through my corner.”

Her efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. Winning the Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA) Prize – a non-profit organisation that supports designers through financial grants, mentoring programs, showroom representation and PR consultancy—was a defining moment in Kazna’s career. Representing Yemen on an international platform was a powerful moment for her family and her community. “Seeing how proud my parents and grandparents were when they saw me being so patriotic was amazing,” she says. The win cemented her belief in her ability to use fashion to tell stories, connect people and make a difference. 

Though representation is an undeniable triumph for Kazna, the designer is hoping to reshape the conversation around fashion itself. With her upcoming collection, FAMILY in the works for London Fashion Week, Kazna continues to push themes of community, selflessness and sincerity. “I hope I can make a little stamp on the fashion world and encourage people to stand for something through their work, encourage the industry to be more mindful and inspire the next generation to have the free thinking to keep making an impact” Kazna expresses. “Who knows, maybe I’ll be the catalyst to inspire the next person and the next…I definitely have like three generations of hope in me!”