The Palestinian scarf is now the most political piece of clothing, but is it also becoming fashion again?

The incident is actually small, but everything comes together. Laughing, the new people’s representative Cansin Köktürk poses at the end of March on her first day in the German Parliament A photo on x. For the occasion, the 31-year-old politician of that Linke carries a decent strip of black and white checkered fabric around her neck. It is a small, almost fashionable variant of the ‘Palestinian scarf’, the Keffiyeh.

A few days later, this same scarf takes care of the first scandal of the Nieuwe Bundestag. A symbol of ‘aggression against Israel’, found three CDU critics who brought the case to the attention in the national media at the beginning of April. A peaceful symbol of ‘solidarity with Palestine’, the carrier thought. And the new Bundestag President (CDU) stated in Der Spiegel: « Expressions on banners, flyers and clothing are (in parliament) not allowed. »

The excitement about the scarf is not new-the Netherlands had similar discussions about scarf-bearing politicians last year, although they are never as intense as in Germany. At the most recent Pro-Palestina demonstrations in the Stationshal of Amsterdam Central, he was again prominent two weeks ago as a statement, the big black and white-checkered cloths around the neck or head of the participants wrapped. Also a year and a half after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas you could therefore call the Keffiyeh the most political item of clothing of the moment.

But: does he stay that too?

David Beckham

It is hard to imagine that until recently the scarf was no longer so politically loaded. Originally it was a piece of clothing that appeared in many variants in the Arab world, but he only got iconic meaning-after a first phase as a symbol of Palestinian resistance in the 1930s-in the late 1960s, when PLO leader Yasser Arafat made his trademark in the fight for an independent Palestine of the black and white variant.

At his entrance to the West, this meaning soon no longer played a dominant role, explains Design historian Anu Lingala in The Guardian out. First the squat movement and anti-war movements the Keffiyeh, worn around the neck, picked up like a revolutionary freedom symbol. But already in 1982, pop star Madonna also posed in a photo, and in the course of the nineties the scarf as a slightly-rebellious fashion accessory managed to reach an increasingly wider audience. Typical for this new use was the Top in Keffiyeh motif worn by character Carrie Bradshaw, in the fourth season of the popular New York series Sex and the City. A few years later, stars as singer Justin Timberlake and football player David Beckham also adorned the scarf. When the production of the scarves was shifted from Palestine to China in the 2000s and all kinds of smaller, colorful, applied variants appeared on the market, the scarf seemed to have finally lost its ‘sharpness’.

But was the political function completely gone then? Not that either. Calculated in these fashionable Beckham years, the Keffiyeh appeared between the bomber jackets at German Neonazi demonstrations. With this left -wing symbol, the neo -Nazi movement hoped to get a more rebellious appearance, but « also underlined its anti -Semitism, » such as The German news agency DPA Already in 2004 reported.

The cultural history of the Keffiyeh therefore shows that the scarf is flexible; He gets his meaning through the specific context in which he is worn.

Photo Stefan Jeremiah/ AP, Photo Jessica Gow/ TT

New mix

That can now be seen again. At the Cannes Film Festival in 2024, the Palestinian American top model Bella Hadid got the world press when she went to eat an ice cream in a red-white Keffiyeh dress. The dress of the American fashion label Michael and Hushi dates from 2001, when the political intentions were less paramount. Almost a quarter of a century later, wearing the dress is considered one Pronounced Pro-Palestina statement.

The Keffiyeh has received his radical symbolism due to the war in Gaza, « says design historian Jane Tynan of the VU University in Amsterdam. The scarf has again become political: wearing it can be focused on solidarity with Palestine, but the motive also refers to broader themes such as « post colonialism and social justice. »

Bag with Keffiyeh motif from the Merrenci brand. Image bol.com

The consequence of this, however, is also that the fashion world has been renewed in the Keffiyeh, says Modemagazine NSS: Last year, among other things, a Keffiyeh jacket from the Berlin label GmbH in Paris was presented with an explicit reference to Gaza, and in Milan a dress from Salvatore Vignola, inspired by the poet Refaat Alaneer who died in Gaza. The spread of the motive and its meaning seems to have gone extra fast in recent months, according to social media, believes NSS.

The modern shaped scarf of the German politician Cansin Köktürk is in line with a large reservoir of fashion accessories that are spread online-through committed and commercial websites-: bracelets, hair bands, jewelry and even laptop bags with black-and-white-fruit motif. A part already existed, a part is new, but nowhere is the phenomenon of the cultural effect better to be seen than here. A small hint to the original appears to be enough to call on the current message – where many accessories do not do their best not to appear too activist. « A fun and impactful way to show your support », as stated in an advertisement on Bol.com with earrings with Palestinian colors. Or with a bag in Keffiyeh-Ruit: « This bag combines style, functionality and a powerful cultural meaning. ”

Is this a political ‘expression’, or is it again fashion with a committed touch? The German Bundestag President will still have a hard time with it.

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