Hypebeast Community Center: BARZAKH
The avant-garde jewelry brand’s founders expound on their vision, the art of world building, and their commitment to social responsibility.
Give us the elevator pitch for BARZAKH.
Aya Ben Amor: At the core of narrative-led design, BARZAKH reimagines jewelry as a medium for the excavation of the human experience through sculptural form. Based in Sharjah, we position our work at the tension point between craftsmanship, sustainability, and avant-garde design.
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The Five W’s
Who is BARZAKH for?
ABA: For those with a restless need to look between the seams, to seek what lies beyond the standard. What we create takes into consideration the people who connect instinctively with the obscure, resonating just as well with the cautious, the ones who put intention over impression.
What is BARZAKH’s main message?
Marwan Haredy: That form is deceptive. Truth lives within what’s stripped back — textured, layered, and fractured. Our process often leads us to eroded fragments, where we search for contradictions and silver linings in the spaces between the cracks. That’s when art speaks where language collapses.
When was BARZAKH created?
MH: We began developing BARZAKH in 2022. Aya comes from a background in fashion design, and mine is rooted in art and poetry, so a jewelry brand felt like a natural convergence of our worlds. It allows us to work at the intersection of material and narrative, bringing together the intimacy of clothing, the structure of sculpture, and the symbolism of language. It wasn’t until 2024 that we officially launched the brand with our debut collection, Howling Through the Threshold.
“Truth lives within what’s stripped back — textured, layered, and fractured.”
Where are people wearing BARZAKH?
ABA: The foundation of BARZAKH mirrors the instincts of those who gravitate toward it. We’ve found that it speaks to people from both the art and fashion worlds — curators, writers, stylists, designers. Whether in Sharjah, Dubai, or New York, they’re individuals who respond to objects with meaning and weight.
What’s been especially meaningful to witness is how many people wear BARZAKH as part of their daily life. The pieces aren’t just for specific occasions; they become part of a personal ritual. They’re lived with, worn consistently, and often take on an emotional imprint. This reflects our approach to design: we craft each piece to endure and evolve alongside the wearer. Over time, they take on the role of contemporary heirlooms — not because of tradition, but because they quietly root themselves in daily life.
Why was BARZAKH created?
MH: Because something was missing and we felt it. There was a tangible frustration before the brand took shape, frustration with design that felt disconnected. It left no space for real tension, no room for narrative, for contradiction. That restlessness became the incubator. We wanted to create something that could scream back.
In a space where jewelry was starting to feel numb, caught in some aesthetic anesthesia — BARZAKH, in one way or another, became an act of refusal. Sometimes deliberate, sometimes intuitive. A refusal to separate sentiment from object. A refusal to abandon narrative. A refusal to leave the MENA region out of the global avant-garde conversation.
There is a hunger for brands that don’t compromise between concept, craft, and responsibility. That hunger exists on both ends — those who wear the work, and those of us who make it. We want to contribute to it on our terms, with our language.
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About the Brand
Social responsibility is a key component of BARZAKH’s mission. What are the various layers involved in this?
ABA: We built BARZAKH on four pillars of social responsibility: sustainability, offsetting, philanthropy, and community. It starts with materials; we use recycled sterling silver, avoid overproduction, and work closely with local artisans rather than outsourcing to mass manufacturers. BARZAKH rejects fast consumption by design. Our responsibility begins with the decision to create cautiously, and only when it matters.
We also take accountability for our footprint, offsetting by planting a tree for every piece sold. But our efforts extend beyond environmental impact. Responsibility also means standing with people. We’re preparing to launch the Oath Ring, a campaign dedicated to the Palestinian cause, where 100% of profits will go toward supporting Palestinian children who continue to suffer under unimaginable circumstances.
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How does recycled sterling silver compare to standard sterling silver? Were there any challenges in making this commitment?
MH: Materially, they’re identical, but the impact is not. Recycled sterling silver allows us to disengage from the extractive cycle of mining, which contributes to deforestation, water and air pollution, and habitat destruction. Choosing to work exclusively with recycled silver is a deliberate decision, even if it’s harder to source and not as readily available. For us, it’s non-negotiable.
Each piece comes in a handcrafted box molded from paper pulp. What role does your distinct packaging play in the brand identity that you’re building?
ABA: We see the packaging as an extension of the brand, an extension of the pieces themselves, not an afterthought. It’s not just something to house the jewelry, but something that builds on the experience of BARZAKH. The materiality of the pulp, its texture, its irregularities — it mirrors the same raw elements we bring into the work itself.
We also designed it with versatility in mind. We intend it to be kept, repurposed, and used — never discarded. Like the pieces inside, it’s crafted to remain with you.
“In a space where jewelry was starting to feel numb, caught in some aesthetic anesthesia — BARZAKH, in one way or another, became an act of refusal.”
How do you hope people feel when wearing BARZAKH?
ABA: We hope the experience feels introspective, like reaching inward. We hope the wearer finds comfort within BARZAKH’s language and a sense of confidence in knowing the piece reflects who they truly are.
Because of the way we forge the jewelry, through raw, satin, or antiqued finishes, each piece continues to evolve with time. A raw surface may slowly take on a subtle sheen, an oxidised texture might soften and blur back into the silver. These quiet, unpredictable shifts are evidence of the wearer’s own pace.
Where do you find inspiration?
MH: Inspiration for us is fluid. It comes from the culture around us, the world we move through, from the conscious psyche, or the subconscious. But what we return to most often are remnants, what’s left behind, what survives after rupture, what lingers quietly in the aftermath. That’s where we find the most meaning. Remnants often inhabit the in-between, those transitional, undefined states where things aren’t fully one thing or another.
Our debut collection, Howling Through the Threshold, was built around that very idea. It was a translation of the brand’s marrow, a metaphysical space suspended between forms, between states of being. We expanded on that narrative with later pieces like the Heirloom Necklace and the State of Transference Ring, where the in-between became the central condition. It’s less about what the pieces say and more about what their presence leaves behind.
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What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned since launching BARZAKH?
ABA: Creating a brand is never just about the product. It’s about building a complete universe, something with a voice, values, and a sense of time. A brand needs a past, a present, and a future. If you don’t take the time to shape that world fully, you end up with just objects — aesthetic assets without emotional or conceptual weight. The more carefully you construct the foundation, the more naturally everything else falls into place.
Which BARZAKH design do you find yourself wearing the most?
ABA: I have one of the master samples of the Metamorphosis Signet Ring on my hand at all times. Its form is intentionally contradictory, angular yet fluid, assertive yet subtle, and it complements the hand in a way that feels both natural and unexpected. Since you can wear it in different positions, it’s one of those designs that keeps revealing something new over time.
What’s your favorite thing that you’ve created with BARZAKH so far?
MH: Shaping the foundational universe of BARZAKH itself. Designing a piece is one thing, but building a space where those pieces belong, where they speak a shared visual, emotional, and philosophical language, that’s a different kind of creation entirely.
It demands every facet of our creative selves: poetry, design, narrative, texture, rhythm. It’s architecture, but internal. Watching that world take shape, slowly, deliberately, watching it hold together and make room for more … that’s the real reward.
“If you don’t take the time to shape the world of a brand fully, you end up with just objects — aesthetic assets without emotional or conceptual weight.”
BARZAKH has already established a global reputation, presenting at Milano Jewelry Week and partnering with boutiques worldwide. What does this mean to you? Where in the world would you like to see BARZAKH next?
ABA: It reinforces that there’s a real urgency and space for brands like BARZAKH, brands that lead with intention. Being stocked alongside established names at boutiques like Komune is incredibly humbling, especially considering how young the brand still is. But more than validation, it’s an opportunity to be in dialogue with other creatives, and to exist in spaces that give the work the room it needs to speak.
We’d love to continue expanding into other cities where the fashion, art, and conceptual design worlds intersect. Europe feels like a natural next step, but we’re also drawn to East Asia, where BARZAKH’s sensibility could resonate in a very particular and meaningful way.
What’s next for BARZAKH?
MH: We’re expanding the contours of what BARZAKH can be, doubling down on the intersection between contemporary art and jewelry. Our upcoming collection comes with a publication that brings together regional and international artists, each responding to the collection’s narrative in their own medium. It’s a way of translating the work beyond object form, into image, text, gesture — while also amplifying other voices we believe in.
We’re also continuing to explore the boundaries of jewelry. As we speak, there’s a living, breathing material growing quietly in our studio. We’re developing ways to incorporate it into the next phase of BARZAKH, as an alternative to leather.
