The term modest fashion is often considered as boring, ill fitting, and unattractive outfits which do nothing in flattering the personality of whoever wears it. For most people what comes to mind when they hear of modest fashion is the Arabian “Hijab”, which we believe is a total misconception of what modest fashion represents. Hijab is an Arabic word which means “to cover” so in a more literal term, an outfit that covers a woman’s chastity is referred to as an Hijab. Modest fashion basically appeals to female fashion lovers, not only Muslims, but women who are interested in looking good, yet remain stylish and decently covered.
Creative director of Jemmila, Faduma Allen is one of the designers that creates modest wears for not only women in Islam, but also women with different religious and spiritual beliefs, who can identify with modesty, which is a positive turnout because, modest fashion is finally receiving the long and overdue recognition in the fashion industry.
According to the 2015-2016 state of the global Islamic economy Report, Muslims spend approximately $230 Billion annually on clothing, which is to increase to a whooping $327 Billion by 2019. The stated figures are worth more than the combined clothing markets of Germany, India and UK.
Despite the ban of the hijab (in this context referring to the Niqab, Hador, Boushiya, and Burqa) in European countries, and the popular belief that Hijab is a symbol of “religious obscurantism and oppression on women” the modest fashion is gradually being accepted as a decisive choice by women, which has therefore prompted big designer brands to accept this trend and work with it in their brand.
Haute Elan, an online fashion market place, launched the first ever London Modest Fashion Week (LMFW), with more than 3,000 people in attendance, and more than 40 designers from all over the world, showcasing their various collections, ranging from Abaya’s, Burkini, Pallazo, Emerald dresses and lots more.
Indonesian designer, Anniesa Hasibuan’s collection unveiled at the NYFW was another trend setter. The designer’s completely modest collection, which featured all the models wearing Hijab, was another forward progress in showcasing modest fashion to the world of cautious fashion lovers from all over the world, once again putting modest fashion on the forefront of the market.
Top sportswear designer brand, Nike made an astonishing release of promo pictures of their pro-hijab sportswear for Muslim women early this year, which is set to hit the market next spring. This move has made Nike the first large sportswear brand to manufacture a performance hijab for female Muslim athletes.
According to the Nike website, “the pro hijab has been a year in the making, but its impetus can be traced much further back to Nike’s founding mission, to serve athlete, with the signature addendum; “if you have a body, you are an athlete”.
Another top designer brand in the circular fashion industry to embrace modest fashion in their recent collection is none other than Italian luxury fashion brand Dolce and Gabbana. The label launched its first collection of modest outfits for Muslim women in their A/W 2016 ready- to- wear collection. D&G is notable for its signature colorful prints and statement pieces, and this collection as no different.
The dis-repution of modest fashion was changed with the help of famous fashion influencers like, Basma K, Dino Tokio, Haute Hijab, the Istanbul fashion week, London modest fashion week, and Singapore Modest fashion week, to name a few.
Others are models like Halima Aden, who is the first Hijabie signed by top modelling company IMG, under whom she made her first appearance on Kanye West’s’ Yeezy season 5 show.
Another modest fashion influencer is model, Mariah Idrissi, whom in 2015 became the first hijab-wearing model to appear in any mainstream western fashion campaign, when she fortunately got featured in an H&M campaign.
The rate of acceptance of the modest fashion movement, signifies that the movement is more than just a trend, instead it is a long overdue acknowledgement of the fashion choices of women in the world’s most populous religion, which is finally receiving appropriate recognition in the fashion industry.
writen by:: sefinah lamii
lamiisefinah@gmail.com
image source: google
