Founder of sustainable fashion brand Rawa Alloughani represents Kuwait in UK’s horticultural exchange program under patronage of King Charles III
Rawa Alloughani, founder of Kuwait’s sustainable fashion brand, was recently selected by Kuwait’s ministry of foreign affairs to join the prestigious horticultural exchange program hosted by The King’s Foundation in the United Kingdom under the patronage of King Charles III.
For Alloughani, fashion and gardening may seem worlds apart, yet both bloom from the same seed of intention. As the visionary behind a socially conscious fashion house and a gardening page dedicated to organic living, she has woven her passions into a lifestyle where beauty and responsibility go hand in hand. In her world, a carefully tailored jacket carries the same reverence as a hand-planted seed.
Kuwait Times: What sparked your interest in sustainability and fashion?
Alloughani: It began with a feeling that fashion should be more than just how we look — it should reflect how we care. I’ve always been drawn to design, but as I learned more about the harm caused by fast fashion, I knew I wanted to take a different path. Gardening made me deeply aware of nature’s cycles and taught me that sustainability is a way of living. Combining fashion and sustainability felt natural. I wanted to show the world that elegance and ethics can thrive together.
KT: What influences shaped your perspective on design and responsibility toward the environment?
Alloughani: Nature has always been my greatest teacher. Gardening taught me patience, balance, and how to work with what the earth gives us, not against it. Community shaped me just as much. I’m constantly inspired by traditional Kuwaiti crafts like Sadu weaving and embroidery, which carry the stories of our people. For me, design is about honoring heritage, preserving culture and creating with responsibility.
KT: What role has Kuwait’s culture and environment played in your design?
Alloughani: Kuwait is a land of contrasts — intense heat, limited resources, yet endless creativity and resilience. I’ve always admired how our people grow beauty from scarcity. It’s shaped the way I design: With intention, humility and purpose. Our culture celebrates modesty, storytelling and resourcefulness, values I carry in every piece I create. For example, we turn all leftover fabric cuttings into dust bags, ensuring nothing goes to waste. That’s not just sustainability; it’s Kuwaiti ingenuity.
KT: How did you feel when you were selected to represent Kuwait in the horticultural exchange program?
Alloughani: It was a surreal and deeply humbling moment. To be chosen to represent Kuwait as both a designer and a gardener was the perfect intersection of my two loves. It felt like the world was saying: Yes, your values matter. Even more beautifully, it showed that Kuwait is ready to lead on the global stage when it comes to culture, creativity and sustainability.
KT: How did working in such historic gardens influence your perspective as a designer and gardener?
Alloughani: It was like stepping into a symphony of nature, heritage and harmony. Every tree, every flower, every preserved wall told a story. It reminded me that true design is about harmony. As a gardener, I learned from the soil. As a designer, I learned from the intentionality behind every element. It made me even more committed to ensuring that my creations reflect care, balance and reverence for life.
KT: As a gardener yourself, how do you see the relationship between gardening and fashion in terms of sustainability and creativity?
Alloughani: Both gardening and fashion are expressions of care and creativity. In the garden, beauty blooms slowly — with love, time and respect for natural rhythms. The same should be true in fashion. Fast fashion cuts corners, but conscious fashion, like gardening, nurtures every step. Both remind us to design with cycles in mind: Compost becomes soil, fabric scraps become art. Both can be timeless, meaningful and deeply human.
KT: You designed the official barn jacket for the program, blending practicality with cultural storytelling. Tell us more about that.
Alloughani: Designing the barn jacket was a personal love letter to Kuwait. I wanted it to be functional for garden work, yet deeply rooted in our cultural identity. The tartan fabric was developed by Sadu House in partnership with The King’s Foundation, and I incorporated Sadu weaving using sustainable wool threads. Every stitch was intentional. It’s a garment that tells a story of Kuwait’s heritage, resilience and creativity while serving a purpose in a global conversation on sustainability.
KT: Why was it important for you to make it zero-waste?
Alloughani: Because waste is the enemy of care. Sustainability, for me, is about honoring all living things, the environment that provides for us and the people who live within it. Zero-waste wasn’t a feature; it was a promise. The barn jacket also reflects Kuwait’s identity — it’s modest yet modern, rooted in tradition yet forward-looking. We even embroidered Kuwait’s official flora, Rhanterium epapposum, into the design, a subtle symbol of our national beauty and strength.
KT: What message do you hope to share with the world through your work?
Alloughani: That fashion can be a force for compassion. My brand exists to show that you don’t have to choose between looking good and doing well. Sustainable fashion can be bold, elegant and expressive while uplifting communities and protecting our planet. I also want to change the narrative around Kuwait — to show the world that this desert land is filled with visionaries and creators who grow beauty from limitation. My hope is that people wear it and feel proud of how they look, and of the impact they’re making.
KT: In your opinion, how can fashion contribute to environmental awareness in the same way gardening does?
Alloughani: Fashion is one of the most personal forms of communication; everyone wears it every day. It holds incredible power to shape habits and spark change. Just like gardening reconnects people to the land, sustainable fashion reconnects us to the impact of our choices. When we begin to ask, Who made this? What is it made of? What happens to it after I’m done? — we plant seeds of awareness that can blossom into global movements.
KT: Are you planning to expand regionally and internationally?
Alloughani: Yes, that’s part of the vision. I want my brand to expand in a way that carries its soul with it. Sustainability is universal, and so is beauty. I hope to reach more people, inspire more conversations and build a global community that values mindful fashion. But I will always stay grounded in my roots, in Kuwait, and in the belief that fashion must leave the world better than it found it.
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