To interview Rami Kashou contact the IMEU at 718-514-9662 or info@imeu.net

Palestinian-American fashion designer Rami Kashou finds inspiration from Palestinian style.

Up-and-coming fashion designer Rami Kashou was a finalist on Bravo's hit show Project Runway and his dresses have draped Hollywood celebrities Penelope Cruz, Heidi Klum, Jennifer Lopez and Jessica Alba among other starlets. Kashou's work has been featured in tens of magazines including Elle, Vogue, In Style, The New York Times Magazine, and Flaunt. He has been honored by The Make a Wish Foundation, LA Fashion Awards, Seeds of Peace, and the Los Angeles City Council.

Kashou was born in Jerusalem in 1976 and raised in the West Bank city of Ramallah. His talent for design carried him through the challenges of a childhood interrupted by turmoil. "I grew up under military occupation. I used to sketch to escape the harsh reality and in an ugly situation I would create beauty." Kashou remembers telling his mother and grandmother what to wear from the time he was five years old.

By age nine, he had started sketching designs for the women in his Ramallah neighborhood. "Women from the neighborhood would come to our house to drink coffee and I would show them my new designs. They would bring their fabric and I would design based on the fabric and then accompany them to the local seamstress and she would make the dresses."

From the small seamstress shop in Palestine to the runways of New York and Los Angeles, Kashou's collections have been featured at Fashion Week, on the Tyra Banks Show, and in numerous television appearances in the U.S. and the Middle East.

Kashou's signature element - draping - is "undoubtedly inspired by Palestinian style. A big part of Palestinian culture is presentation. Women are well dressed in Palestine even if they don't have access to the latest fashions. As a young designer I saw beauty in the way the fabric moved and I think that whispers in my work today."

Kashou, who wants to continue creating clothes that "celebrate women and help them feel confident," is starting a new line of custom bridal gowns, already in demand internationally.

While Kashou regrets that he had to leave his family in order to pursue his dreams abroad, he says his struggles kept him focused on his goals. "Being Palestinian gave me strength because in many people's eyes we don’t exist. I am determined to exist through my work. Palestinians don't have freedom or equal rights today. But I have my talent and my dream and no one can take that away from me."