A new fashion brand aims to produce premium, family-oriented clothing while rebuilding economic opportunities in Aleppo. Shami Family, co-founded by Syrian craftsman Mohanad Shami and Dutch entrepreneur Stefan Peinemann, recently unveiled its first collection of luxury tracksuits made from 100% Syrian cotton. The Rotterdam-based brand will establish a production studio in Aleppo in the coming year, creating stable employment for local artisans in a region renowned for its textile heritage.The venture, launched just weeks before the Assad regime was overthrown, bypasses traditional NGO structures to directly reinvest profits into Aleppos community. Shami Familys strategy aligns with a demand for transparency in fashion supply chains while showcasing how brands can meaningfully engage with regions typically overlooked by the industry. Our choice of Syria isnt just practical, its a powerful signal to other entrepreneurs about reconsidering where and with whom they produce, Peinemann told De Ondernemer.Its also a powerful story for the brands customers to share Aleppo isnt an answer anyone expects after asking a friend where their new tracksuit is from. As Syria and other countries rebuild their economies from the wreckage of war and oppression, its a model that could inspire other brands to explore how unorthodox manufacturing decisions could drive direct, positive change in communities with deep craftsmanship traditions but limited opportunities. DTC × Direct-to-Rebuild?
