ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A young Kurdish artist living in Hungary is building a global following for her fashion designs and wrestling fan art.
Dilan Salih, 23, was born in Hungary and now lives in Székesfehérvár, near Budapest. Her family originally comes from Duhok. She has taken part in many clothing design competitions and her work has been honoured with awards.
Her work has attracted the attention of celebrities who have shared her paintings and drawings on their Instagram accounts, including female World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestlers.
"The greatest joy that came to me was that famous American WWE superstars shared my drawings on their Instagram accounts and asked me to draw for them, including Catherine Joy Perry known as Lana, Saraya-Jade Bevis known as Paige, Sasha Banks, Summer Rae, and Charlotte Flair," Salih told Rudaw.
She says the WWE superstars liked her work because "my fashion illustrations were so colorful. So, I designed new dresses for them on paper."
Dress designs by Dilan Salih. Photo: Dilan Salih
Salih developed an interest in art at a very young age – drawing pictures and making clothes for her dolls.
"I’ve been drawing since I was three years old. It all started in kindergarten… While I was waiting for my father, I was drawing landscapes or fashion drawings," she said. "The kindergarten teachers entered them in drawing competition. In my free time at that time I made mini dresses by hand for my Barbie dolls."
Dubbed the ‘Kurdish girl’ in Hungarian media, Salih put on her first fashion show in February.
She has also won recognition for her painting.
A Christmas painting by Dilan Salih that was recognized by the Szent Istvan Cultural House art competition. Photo: Dilan Salih
"In 2018, most of the votes were given to my work at the St. Elisabeth drawing competition, and the winning painting on the cover of the codex, which is currently circling in all primary schools in Székesfehérvár,” said Salih.
Additionally, "many foreign magazines have re-posted my drawings or followed on Instagram."
"Famous makeup artists and Albanian singers such as Enca [Haxhia] shared my drawing. In addition, well-known and high-profile foreign art sites have shared my fashion trends, such as Artsblogger, Shinemyidols, Dailyart, etc,” she explained.
Albanian singer Enca is a fan of Dilan Salih’s art. Photo: Dilan Salih
Salih says she always introduces herself as a Kurd and often has to explain what that means.
People she meets "think being Kurdish is a unique and interesting thing," she said. "It is not difficult, but people need time to understand what does it mean to be a Kurd."
Salih hopes to come to the Kurdistan Region in the future where she dreams of opening clothing stores in Erbil and her family’s native city of Duhok.