Kurdish Dandies Start Iraq’s First Fashion Club

It’s not just about bringing fashion to Iraq. For these Kurdish peacocks it’s also about promoting a positive image of their homeland to the world. In early February 2016, a group of young men gathered in the ancient citadel at the heart of Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region. It was deep into the second winter of the Kurds’ war against the Islamic State and the region was mired in economic crisis. As a result, restoration work on the ancient UNESCO-listed site — said to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world — had ground to a halt, leaving the citadel with the air of an abandoned film set. Continue reading »