A stitch in time saves lives—the Canberra designer supporting forgotten Afghan women
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When Maryam Oria began Sakena The Label from her home in Canberra, she knew that she wanted to do everything she could to support women back in her country of birth—Afghanistan.
But six months into launching, the Taliban reprised its rule, and the workers in her women’s clothing factory scattered—unable to work at all—let alone create bags and dresses for Australian fashionistas.
Two years later, Maryam’s Afghan fusion wear has caught the attention of the Australian fashion industry—seeing her designs paraded down the Melbourne Fashion Week Modest Fashion Runway in October.
But as she continues to create slow fashion designs, upcycled from, and inspired by deadstock material meticulously hand-selected from different parts of Afghanistan, Maryam just wants to pay tribute to Afghan artisans—and her staff that still continue to hand-stitch her designs from the secrecy of their own homes.
“It was chaos—they don’t allow women to work outside, they don’t allow women to work on fashion-related things,” she says.
“We closed down the factory and I lost contact with some of my workers because of that. But after three months we started again in one of the biggest houses, so we can do it without them [the Taliban] noticing.”
“Once finish we ship out these dresses to Pakistan, and then from Pakistan, they ship to Australia because it’s not possible to do it directly from Afghanistan.”
Turning waste into fashion, each item from Sakena tells a story of the women who use their homes to upcycle the fabric—sewing and embroidering in secrecy to earn a little bit of money or keep occupied during times when they used to be at school studying.
Unable to name them, Maryam says each item from Sakena tells their journey, as well as the stories of her culture.
“They haven’t gotten any threats, but I want to keep it very secret. I won’t name them; I don’t relate myself to them. I talk about them because it’s important for people to know that this is happening in Afghanistan.”
“More than war and poverty.”
Credit: @snapsbysal
Coming to Canberra in 2011 to study a double degree in Management and Business Administration at the University of Canberra, Maryam has always loved fashion.
Growing up in Afghanistan, she would wander through the bazaar to choose fabric—designing and sewing clothing for herself, her sisters, and her cousins. And while the idea of a career in fashion was always in the back of her mind, she never had the platform or opportunity to pursue her passion.
It wasn’t until she was living in the nation’s capital during the pandemic—stood down from her job at a Community Centre—that she could finally start designing again.
“I dug up my sketching material, I would do that whenever I had the time…and then I decided to make a capsule collection,” she says.
“I found a small factory back home in Afghanistan that created these upcycled vintage dresses. Embroidery in Afghanistan, for most of the girls it’s their passion, so I got in touch with the help of some of my friends back home.”
Upcycling dresses and purses to give them new life, Sakena (which translates to tranquillity and a state of being calm and peaceful) aims to uplift artisans and show the world that Afghanistan “has more than war and poverty”.
Each item brings a touch of home back to the Afghan community in Australia, with a slightly modern touch.
“We have so much beauty—Afghanistan has very diverse cultures and we have so many ethnicities…and every ethnicity has their own traditional clothes,” says Maryam.
“Of course, my label is inspired by the culture in my country. Being a fashion enthusiast, I do follow the Fashion Weeks and I have from a very young age and every year I notice something—like a big fashion brand, for example, Gucci or YSL—getting inspiration from Afghan culture without giving credit to the artisans.”
“I want to put it out there and give them the credit they deserve.”
A dream for (a fashionable) future.
Credit: @snapsbysal for Moevir Paris
Representing Afghanistan at the Fabric of Multicultural Australia (FOMA) exhibition in Sydney 2021 and at the Golden Eagle Race Day on Saturday 29 October this year, Maryam’s plans for the future of her label to expand beyond the runway.
Admitting that she feels that she was lucky to migrate to Australia to study, Maryam wants to continue to use her label and the vibrant pieces she designs to continue educating the local community—and to uplift women from underprivileged backgrounds by helping them improve their financial and social standing.
“If I could, I would have a small factory to provide training for people who want to pursue their dreams—like myself—and provide them with the insight that I have, what I’ve learned throughout my journey, and to teach them sewing,” she says.
“Especially for the migrant community because I know what they’re going through, starting from scratch. I came as a student, but they came in such chaos, leaving everything behind.”
For more information visit sakenathelabel.com
Feature image: @snapsbysal
