Working at her small, crowded desk with sheets of paper, pencils and thread, Aziza Msabeh first sketches a dress on white paper, then goes over her work in black. Then she starts the second stage of her work, taking the design from a drawing to a unique dress that her client will wear to her brother’s wedding.

Msabeh, who lives in the central Gaza Strip neighborhood of Deir al-Balah, is one of the four founders of a fashion house and boutique called “Dar Organza Fashion,” a pioneering fashion design house in downtown Gaza City. Its first boutique was opened in February 2017, followed in September by a second branch in the Rimal neighborhood. The fashion house provides employment for 30 women who had never worked professionally before.

The four women opened the fashion boutique under the sponsorship of the nongovernmental organization Premiere Urgence Internationale, which covered the initial costs of the project, including rent and basic needs such as fabric, thread and sewing machines. Today, the women are able to cover the expenses with their sales.

Msabeh and the other women behind the project — Faten Habib, Lamia Jaber and Lina al-Hartani — were brought together by a common interest in fashion and design. “Our love for fashion and participation in the Tasmimi competition in late 2015 gave us the idea to open the boutique. The competition was organized by the International Humanitarian Relief organization with 58 participants, and we were the four winners. We also attended several fashion and design workshops organized by the International Humanitarian Relief organization,” Msabeh told Al-Monitor.