Young Blood

Hip hop, 1980s Brooklyn, Bedouin  motifs and modern London are just a few of the influences on the moodboard of Mayada Khammu. Full of fierce urban attitude, the 24-year-old fashion designer draws on both her South West London upbringing and deep Arab roots in her designs, which range from heavyweight gold necklaces to graphic tees imprinted with the images of fallen Arab leaders.   A self-described 'street couturier and contemporary urbanite', Khammu lives and breathes the street style that is at the heart of her debut label, Young Blood. Hip hop pulses through the air of her studio. After graduating from Central St Martins and Kingston University, Khammu’s independent streak led her to set up the space in her London home, the birthplace of Young Blood. Khammu always believed her destiny laid in fashion. ‘It’s part of my DNA,’ she confidently smiles describing how from making lookbooks for her Barbie dolls at age six, she has gone on to participate at last September’s London Fashion Week. ‘Fashion was always the main goal and the main aim.’   The daughter of a Jordanian mother and Iraqi father, Khammu was born and raised in London. On holiday in Iraq as the first Gulf War struck when she was three years old, her and her family fled the country in the middle of the night through the desert to Jordan. Her design ethos is inspired by the more peaceful history of the desert though, with heavy references to the nomadic and Bedouin culture of Jordan. ‘It’s your heritage, you can’t escape it and it’s you,’ she says. ‘Growing up in London, both feeling British and being Arab, I relate to my own work and I feel that many others are, and will do.’   Khammu’s references, however, are far more nuanced than London-meets-Arabia. Images of street style from across the world litter her lookbooks. When asked if there’s one era of modern history that has particularly inspired her, Khammu answers without hesitation: the 1980s. ‘Ray Petri’s Buffalo culture, street couture and Gianni Versace have had great influences on me and my work.’   Ray Petri is clearly a big influence. The Scottish-born designer’s distinctive ‘Buffalo’ sub-culture is now synonymous with the rebellious youth culture of 1980s London, with his surly styling appearing on the pages of The Face, i-D and Arena magazines. Buffalo became a subculture in its own right, a tough, tongue-in-cheek urban uniform that united the city’s alternative artists and Khammu proudly advocates his influence in her work. The name for the Young Blood label was lifted from a 1985 edition of The Face that features Ray Petri editorial, and refers to the young models as ‘young bloods’. Seeing the similarity between Petri’s rude boys of 1985 and second generation Arabs in London today, Khammu’s appropriation of the term straddles east and west. She sees Buffalo culture alive on both the streets of Baghdad and the subways of New York City.   ‘Young Blood and Mayada Khammu more generally is the best of both worlds,’ she explains. ‘This line is honest. Why can’t fashion reflect social explanations behind modern culture. Why can’t it be the voice for culture? A voice for why people are who they are, rather than being what fashion and trends are.’   In Khammu’s hands, Buffalo street culture and her Bedouin background seem almost seamless. ‘Young Blood is urban, but a lot of it comes from Bedouin culture. Like the colours I’ve used.’ Black and gold, which predominate traditional Bedouin dresses and jewellery, can be seen throughout the collection, along with acid hues that symbolise the interiors of the nomads’ colourful tents. ‘The colours of black and gold and the excessive material used for garments is a Bedouin influence, but it’s also a personal one I get directly from my grandparents,’ Khammu says, showing a picture of her grandparents who she describes as one of her greatest influences.   The mystic culture of her Bedouin ancestors is also of great interest to the designer, as well as the more modern influences of her mother, a forward-thinking psychologist whose approach to the role of women in the Middle East helped Khammu not only develop her own strong sense of self, but also her brand’s. ‘As you grow up you want to hold on to your heritage, but you also want to be that modern woman. Women should be proud of their sexuality,’ she says. ‘I can identify with the girl I am designing for because I am that girl. I always wanted to design something that’s true to me and this is me.’   Young Blood recently caught the eye of Brooklyn-based hip hop artist Angel Haze. The young, fiery female rapper wore a Young Blood cross pendant during a recent magazine interview as she discussed poverty and development, a collaboration that came about following Khammu’s exposure at London Fashion Week. Hip hop is second nature to the designer. The music rages throughout her collection, and she talks passionately about the genuine rhetoric of hip hop and the inspiring poetry it has provided her with, particularly the words of the late Tupac Shakur. As well as Haze, she’d love to dress Beyoncé and rapper ASAP Rocky.   ‘Hip hop is urban poetry, it’s real and so is the Middle East. And fashion needs to sometimes represent this, rather than the culture of excessiveness and luxury that has become the trademark of Middle Eastern trends,’ says Khammu, speaking about the worlds of fashion and hip hop. It may be trendy, but Young Blood is also a poetic pursuit for authenticity, treading the line between the subversive spirit of hip hop and offering a fresh representation of Arab culture.   Still 24, it’s this boldness in Khammu that took London Fashion Week by storm in 2012. Participating in the Vauxhall Fashion Talent Scout initiative, a launch pad for emerging designers, the designer describes her experience as invaluable. ‘It really gives you a taste of how fast fashion is. This industry is 24 hours – sleep isn’t an issue, it consumes you,’ she says. Her own self-imposed working hours are endless, and her work ethic and ambition is admirable. ‘I find myself in the zone,’ she explains, and her future plans are just as wide in scope: ‘a fully established brand in Mayada Khammu, but also Young Blood not just as a label, but a collective for all types of artists who can come together.’ Khammu also hints at a future project, currently a well-wrapped secret, a collection of clothing that aims to raise money for children in regrettable conditions in the Middle East. Bringing together the heritage of her past with the social concerns of today and some pure hip hop swagger, Khammu is fulfilling her fashion destiny and staying true to her roots, too.   Photography: Celia Topping