The Central Saint Martins graduate fashion show in London – an annual hot ticket thanks to alumni such as Alexander McQueen and John Galliano – was fraught with tension this year. Sponsored by L’Oréal, whose links to Israel have drawn criticism, the show attracted protests outside the venue.

Inside, Palestinian student Ayham Hassan sent out his graduation collection, Im-Mortal Magenta: The colour that doesn’t exist. Exploring the reality of being a Palestinian under occupation, the looks were bound by a punchy magenta tone, with patterns and motifs from traditional tatreez, hand-embroidered by women in the West Bank.

Speaking by phone from London weeks later, he explains the title. “Magenta is a very happy colour. It’s a colour our mind makes up. It literally doesn’t exist.” A light wavelength anomaly, according to The Royal Institution, magenta appears when red and blue cones fire, but green does not.

Models wore looks inspired by majdal silk and rubber bands alluding to slingshots used by Palestinian children against tanks. Photo: Ayham Hassan

For Hassan, this peculiarity felt like an apt metaphor for the Palestinian state, existing yet denied. “For me, [magenta] became like a shield, a protection or a second skin, and these beautiful embroideries and motifs are a second skin to protect you in this horrible war.”

Born in Ramallah, Hassan says his path to London had a touch of kismet. His flair was spotted by a tutor at Birzeit University, who urged him to apply to Central Saint Martins. Despite the odds – only 50 students chosen from more than 3,000 – he won a place.

Then came the battle to raise the fees. A crowdfunding plea was reshared by model Bella Hadid, picked up by Dazed magazine, and drew a brand sponsor to cover part of his costs. Grateful for the kindness of strangers, Hassan is also painfully aware of the disconnect between studying fashion amid Israeli violence.

Hand-embroidered motifs from the West Bank and silhouettes in vivid colours told a story of resistance on the runway. Photo: Ayham Hassan

“How can I talk about a genocide in a fashion collection? How can I approach such a thing? You can imagine how frustrating and sad it is to be a Palestinian experiencing it in London. I could not be creative. We all thought it would finish after three months,” he says. Only by channelling his fury and helplessness into design did something shift.