Hind — Damascus Brocade Handbag | Yellow

Hind — Damascus Brocade Handbag | Yellow

£35.00
£35.00
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Hind — Damascus Brocade Handbag | Yellow
  • Hind — Damascus Brocade Handbag | Yellow
  • Hind — Damascus Brocade Handbag | Yellow
Hind — Damascus Brocade Handbag | Yellow

Hind — Damascus Brocade Handbag | Yellow

£35.00
£35.00

Named after Hind Nawfal, the Hind Purse is a piece of real artistic elegance. These faux-Damask purses are handcrafted with surplus fabric used in creating other products, making them both environmentally-friendly and unique. 

  • Inspired by real brocade patterns

  • Each of these handbags is a unique, one-of-a-kind piece

  • Handcrafted in Damascus by Syrian artisans

Learn more about this product and the craftsmanship behind it, in addition to the historical figure or symbol it's named after:

Material Composition
These purses are made of faux-brocade inspired by real Damask patterns, mainly from upcycled surplus fabric. They are made of 100% polyester.
Craftsmanship & Trade
The craft of “Al-Ratta” (الرتّا)

Al-Ratta is a meticulous art form associated with the world of textiles, apparel, and precious items. It does not involve creating a new piece; rather, it entails repairing a damaged one and restoring it to a state closely resembling its original condition, rendering the defect invisible or nearly imperceptible. For this reason, it is often described as a form of artistic, concealed mending; it goes beyond merely closing a hole, burn, or tear, instead re-weaving the damaged area using threads of the same material as the fabric itself, while carefully matching the warp and weft, as well as the colour and texture.

Al-Ratta differs fundamentally from ordinary sewing. While standard sewing might involve adding a patch or a visible seam, invisible mending aims to conceal the repair as much as possible, and in some cases create new pieces from leftover material. When a garment tears, a fabric edge burns, a shawl is damaged, a hole appears in a carpet, or some fabric is left unused after sewing, the artisan does not simply insert a random thread; instead, they seek a thread that matches the original in colour, thickness, and texture. They may extract a thread from an inconspicuous part of the item itself, or use other leftover material, creating a piece that is both unique and versatile.

Our Hind purses are made from leftover faux-brocade used in the making of other products, such as shawls and abayas. Their unique Damask patterns and beautiful colours make them the ideal statement purse for a fancy evening outfit or an outstanding gift. These purses embody Kushtban’s commitment to sustainable, slow fashion, where waste is minimised and reused in the best possible ways.
Historical Figure
Hind Nawfal
Era & Empire
Late Ottoman Era — 1860 to 1920
Historical Story
Hind Nawfal was an influential Levantine journalist and feminist writer. She was the first woman in the Arab world to publish a women’s magazine for Arab women. Nawfal was born in 1860 in Tripoli, in what was then ‘Ottoman Syria’ and is now Lebanon, into a family of Orthodox Christians.

Nawfal started her journal, al-Fatat (Arabic: The Young Woman), on 20 November 1892, at a time when there were a growing number of newspapers and scientific journals in circulation and also an increase in female readership. However, al-Fatat was the “first of its kind under the Eastern sky,” Nawfal said, in that it was a journal written for, by, and about women. Nawfal had intended to “adorn its pages with pearls from the pens of women.”

Though al-Fatah only lasted two years, it was the first of the genre of Arab Feminist known as “al-majallat al-nisa’iyya,” written by women, which reached almost 30 and coincided with the Egyptian Revolution of 1919. According to Nabila Ramdani, “al-Fatah is viewed as the first wholly feminist publication in a sizeable list of Arabic periodicals."

Today, we present these beautiful and unique purses in tribute to the greatness of Hind Nawfal and all Arab women who dedicated their lives to defending human rights and paving the way for a safer, more inclusive environment for all women across the region.

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