FEW sartorial choices are scrutinised as closely as those of Muslim
women. Their clothing is regulated both in countries where Islam is a
minority religion, and in those where it is professed by the majority.
France bans face coverings, thus outlawing the niqab,
which leaves just a slit for the eyes. In Iran, a theocracy, and Saudi
Arabia, a monarchy reliant on clerical support, women must wear a hijab (head covering) and abaya (long
cloak) respectively. Only last year did Turkey partially ease a ban,
dating from Ataturk’s founding of the modern secular state, on female
civil servants wearing headscarves.
Most Muslim women want to dress modestly in public, as Islam
prescribes. But increasing numbers want to be fashionable, too. That is
partly because of the relative youth and rising prosperity of the
Islamic world. A growing sense of religious identity also boosts Islamic
style. The Islamic revival of the 1970s, and then a shared sense of
persecution in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, led many
Muslim women to wear their hearts on their sleeves, says Reina Lewis, an
academic at the London College of Fashion and editor of “Modest
Fashion: Styling Bodies, Mediating Faith”. Many say that Islamic dress
is better suited than their country’s traditional garb to modern life.
“The hijab helps women be treated for their minds, not their looks,” says Aziza Al-Yousef, a Saudi professor.
The result is a specialised and fast-growing offshoot of the fashion
industry. New designs of burkinis—head-to-foot swimsuits—and modest
wedding dresses come out each season. Videos on YouTube demonstrate how
to create a “beehive” hijab, a headscarf given extra height by the addition of anything from a carton to a hairpiece. Magazines such as Egypt’s Hijab Fashion feature luxury abayas. Iran is full of local brands from female designers.
The internet and the idea of a Muslim umma,
or global community, help to create styles that know no borders. But
some trends do not travel. A Turkish craze for long denim coats has
largely passed neighbouring Syria by. The shopping malls of conservative
Riyadh overflow with different shapes of abaya customised with coloured trim. In more cosmopolitan Jeddah black abayas jostle with green and navy ones, often jazzed up with leopard-print trim or zip-fronts inspired by sportswear.
Dubai, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur all host Islamic-fashion shows.
Interest is spreading beyond the Islamic world, too. London and Paris
recently started their own events, and this year saw America’s first
Islamic Fashion Week. Mainstream styles are being influenced, too. John
Galliano’s couture collections and H&M, a high-street giant, have
featured turbans and Middle East-inspired designs.
Luxury designers have been quick to profit. Waad Ali, a Qatari
designer, says she noticed a boom in high-end fashion designers from the
Gulf when she graduated from Doha University in 2010. She joined their
ranks and today her clothes and abayas sport $550 price tags. Gulf women who cannot afford such prices can at least wear what they want under their abayas,
from skinny jeans to slinky tops; and Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey
all have fashionable chains selling mass-market clothing tailored to
local Muslim tastes. But elsewhere high-street fashion for Muslims
generally means the more modest lines in non-specialist shops.
Mainstream retailers are missing a trick, says Ms Lewis, by overlooking
an increasingly attractive market.
Fashion is intertwined with the debate about what Islam prescribes
for women’s clothing. Most Muslims read the Koran as describing the
Prophet Muhammad’s wives as covering their hair; only some interpret
this as a command to all women. For the most conservative, the very
concept of Islamic fashion is anathema. Some imams post criticisms in
online forums of women who wear skinny jeans or lots of make-up, even
together with a hijab, since they attract
attention. Others retort that Allah created beauty and that pretty
clothes help dispel the misconception that all Muslim women are
oppressed.
Sources: http://www.economist.com/news/international/21601249-designers-are-profiting-muslim-womens-desire-look-good-hijab-couture
***********************************************************************
anathema - Term derived from Greek which meant "something dedicated".
corture - The business of designing, making, and selling fashionable custom-made women's clothing
sartorial - Relating to tailoring, clothes, or style of dress.
This book aims at re-examining the issue of 'everyday resistance'
through the lens of women's experiences in colonial South Asia. The
overwhelming image of Indian women during the period is one of
passivity, with the exception of some outstanding figures. The attempt
in the present volume is to unearth a narrative of deeper and more
enduring resistance offered by less extraordinary women in their daily
lives. In a breathtaking collection of essays key scholars in the field
bring together evidence from a range of unconventional sources such as
women's songs, photographs, and embroidery, but equally from legal
records, memoirs, and published work, to present women in far more
assertive and/or subversive roles.
