Kurdish dress code reflects the nation’s culture and heritage

Young people in Kurdistan are increasingly wearing traditional clothing amid raised awareness of the importance of preserving Kurdish culture and heritage and reducing the consumption demanded by the modern Western style of attire.

“We do not want our clothing heritage to be marginalized,” said Ghafour Soran, a young man in his latest outfit called Mirad Xani.

“We should not wear Western clothes all the time,” the 21-year-old said.

By wearing traditional clothes, Soran is embracing a heritage that goes back centuries. 

Male and female outfits traditionally have different names. 

Among those for men are Star Xani, Kattafa, Mirad Xani, Badini, and Hawrami. There are two kinds of male outfits, Rank u Choghal and Kurtak u Sharwal, both needing to be tailored by experienced garment-makers.

Men usually wear a combination of loose, baggy pants (sharwal) that taper at the bottom and a matching jacket (kurtak), with a dress shirt (kras) under it. 

The outfit also needs a long belt or sash which is tied around the waist. Howrami men’s attire has an extra piece: a felted wool vest called Faranji in Kurdish, which warms the wearer in winter and cools them in summer.

Female outfits usually go by the names of regions and cities, making the list especially long. The more well-known ones are Mahabadi, Suleimani, Hawleri, but each city or town could have its own design.

Women typically wear a long floor-length dress (kras), often made of light sheer fabric, with long sleeves, ending in a flared, dangling triangle (faqiana), which can be knotted together behind the dress or wrapped and knotted individually around each arm. Over the kras, they wear a short jacket (salta) or a vest (helak). Sometimes, instead of the vest, they wear a long coat (kawa) over the Kras. Under the Kras, women wear a long camisole (zher krass) with bloomers (darpe). 

And then come the accessories. Men pair their outfits with a head kerchief called a jamana or a skull cap (klaw), cloth shoes (klash), and wool leg warmers (puzawana).

Women could wear necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, ankle bracelets (khirkhal), and a decorated skull cap (klaw). They may also wear a cape (kollwana) or multipurpose cloth, a shal, over the shoulders. Their bright clothes, found in nearly any color, tend to be more colorful than those of men, who tend to stick to black, grey, brown, white, or blue.

Modernizing Kurdish Dress

As recently as the 1970s, many Kurdish people wore traditional clothing every day. Due to politics and opening to the outside world, the culture gradually faded. The Iraqi government banned Kurdish dress in several parts of the country in the 1980s.

“Now, people have returned to their own culture,” said Rezan Rasheed, a dressmaker. “Old and young, all of them, buy at least one outfit a year. And that is good for our culture. For my business, too.” 

Creative dressmakers like Rasheed have come up with new designs. She says the number of designs for Kurdish outfits is “infinite.”

“Sometimes, my customers come with their own fabric and design; they say make it like this for me. They show me a drawing or a picture,” she said.

Kurdish men and women now may have a large collection of traditionally inspired clothing, but modern clothing is more fashionable than traditional. 

People are always on the lookout for new fabrics and colors to bring to specialized tailors and dressmakers. Recently, these respected artisans have turned into designers who put a modern spin on traditional garb.

“Young people like it tight,” said dressmaker Rigar Khayat. “Before, the pants were so wide you could hide anything you wanted under it, but now it is tight, and you cannot hide anything.” 

Kurdish Clothing Day is celebrated every year on March 10, and people in and outside of the Kurdistan Region have new outfits made to wear on this day.

“My outfit is a part of my identity,” Ghafour said. “I have seven outfits, and for next year, I am planning to buy two more: one green, one red.”

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