A FREE exhibition on the history of Palestinian dress and embroidery is set to open in Dundee on Thursday.
Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine will be hosted in V&A Dundee and will explore the practice of Tatreez – a hand-embroidery technique which tells stories of women’s identities, grief and changing lives.
Featuring over 30 historical dresses alongside veils, jewellery, accessories, and archival photos, the exhibition – drawn from the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit and the V&A – explores Palestinian dress from the late 19th century to today.
A dress worn by Nadia El-Nakla, Dundee City councillor and wife of former first minister Humza Yousaf, is also set to be featured in the exhibit. She wore the thobe when Yousaf was sworn into Bute House as a nod to her Palestinian heritage.
She said: “I am delighted to welcome Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine to V&A Dundee.
“Design and culture are peaceful and powerful forms of resistance and solidarity. Palestinian fashion and dress express ideas about who we have been, who we are and the lives we want to live in peace and with dignity.
“This exhibition is opening at a time of extreme pain and suffering. It’s bringing design from Palestine to life and tells the stories of women’s lives in Palestine.
“I am proud that my dress, or thobe, that I wore at the Scottish Parliament is there as an expression of my Scottish-Palestinian identity, and as a symbol of solidarity, hope and peace.”
Tatreez is recognised by the United Nations on the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and the exhibition explores how this embroidery has shaped Palestinian national identity over the course of the twentieth century and has evolved into a form of resistance and solidarity.
The exhibition also celebrates 45 years of Dundee’s twin city relationship with Nablus. Considered an act of radicalism in 1980, Dundee was the first city in the UK to be partnered with a Palestinian region and has displayed the flag of Palestine at its City Chambers since.
Thread Memory also highlights the historic connection between Scotland and Palestine through Nabulsi dress and material from Dundee collections and Palestinian archives, whilst spotlighting Gaza with historical dresses – including one damaged in the 2023 bombing of the Rafah Museum – honouring Palestinian creativity and resilience amid cultural devastation imposed by the ongoing genocide carried out by Israel.
Leonie Bell, director of V&A Dundee, said: “Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine is an exhibition that, through research, collections and partnership, explores the traditions and material culture of Palestinian dress and the vast range of regional styles that tell important stories about the lives of the women who made, adapted and wore these dresses, jewellery, headdresses and accessories.
“The exhibition also explores the 45-year-old connection between Dundee and Nablus, a twinning relationship that has brought these two cities together, and it celebrates contemporary Palestinian design and creativity from Dundee, Scotland and across the UK.”
Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine opens to the public on June 26 and will be on show until spring 2026.
