Forced to flee Afghanistan, refugee brings tailoring skills to Colorado

Barker Maa took her idea and designed a partnership between refugee organizations and her fashion studio. Her goal is to help local designers build their brands while providing jobs and skills to Coloradans, especially Denver’s refugee and immigrant populations.

Factory Fashion plans to adapt the environment to accommodate prayer times and to make sure they don’t ask employees to make clothes they’re uncomfortable with. Barker Maa said the studio is considering separating Afghan men and women — at their request — to make the work environment more comfortable.

Najibullah was recently hired at Factory Fashion. He is a deaf and mute Afghan refugee who speaks with his wife using sign language, who then speaks through a translator provided by the International Rescue Committee. He told Rocky Mountain PBS he has faced religious and racial hate in trying to find employment. However, he said this opportunity with Factory Fashion is a dream job.

The only thing that keeps Najibullah and Hasina up at night, they said, are their two teens they had to leave behind in Afghanistan. They are still awaiting documentation to come to the United States. Hasina said there is not a day that goes by that they don’t think about their family being all together again.

“Our only hope is for our children to get a better education here and to become good people,” Hasina said. “To give that love and support that we received from everybody in the U.S.”

Factory Fashion as a place for emerging designers and small to mid-sized brands who want to design and produce their fashion lines in Colorado. For the designers, this place provides a professional workroom, collaboration opportunities with local and national facilities, marketing resources and a studio location.

Darlene C. Ritts is the founder and Creative Director of DCR Studioswhich creates clothes for diverse communities, including prominent drag queens. She is a client of Factory Fashion and said DCR Studios’ mission to ethically source its designs aligns perfectly with Factory Fashion.

“I want the things that touch my skin to be treated well,” Ritts said. “I want the people who put the energy into making the things that are right up and personal on me, to be happy hands.”

For Najibullah, he is happily making these clothes despite the designs being quite a bit different from what he is used to. But he has the skill to adjust.

“It’s very easy for me, I can just look at it and make it. I don’t have a problem with it,” said Najibullah through interpretation. “That’s mostly what’s going through my mind — just looking at different designs and trying to make them, and it’s exciting for me.”

Sonia Gutierrez is a multimedia journalist with Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at soniagutirrez@rmpbs.org