Farida Ahmed

In 2015, one of the Zara stores in Paris witnessed a famous incident. A veiled woman was denied access to him on the grounds that the rules prohibited anyone from wearing a headscarf. The video then caused a sensation against the well-known fashion brand, prompting the company to make an official apology, confirming its respect for all their beliefs, ideas and ethnicities.

The employee might not have known that his company, which adhered to its rules, would flirt veiled women with modestly labeled production lines, and even in her fall 2018 collection, she launched a loose headscarf collection.

The H&M brand used veiled models to promote its 2016 collections, and despite the controversy over the announcement, the company confirmed its respect for the difference.

Zara Fall Fashion Collection 2018 (Network)

Boycott campaigns
Campaigns have also been launched to boycott Macy's stores to sell modest clothing collections for women of Middle Eastern descent. The campaigners claimed that the move was a reversal of historic achievements in women's rights, and that Middle Eastern women should follow the direction of their communities. Not to impose on Western societies their cultures, but the campaign has not discouraged supermarkets from continuing to provide forbidden clothes.

It looked like a precious hunting for fashion makers, not only medium brands like Zara or DKNY, but also the luxury brand Dolce & Gabbana launched a veiled product line, called Dolce & Gabbana Abaya, adopted in its designs. On loose gowns, each priced at 3,000 to 12,000 dollars.

How did it appear?
As young Muslim women need more modern and modest clothing, away from dull and dark colors, a growing number of Muslim designers and social media stars have decided to fill the gaps they have discovered in the market, using their platforms to set up online stores and showcase individual designs that have received much follow-up, according to The Independent. British.

“Social media has become an essential platform for people to express their identity, and the modest clothing that was available was either bleak or boring, and it's fair to say that it’s fair,” co-founder Aab, a medium fashion brand launched in 2007, told The Independent. It started as a home industry, where designers design modest dresses but have a distinct personality, "she added." Today there are a lot of options, and consumer choice is always a good thing. "

The Independent report predicts that the market for the Islamic economy will be worth more than £ 226 billion by 2020, especially as Pinterest UK reports indicate that the search for the term "modest fashion" has increased by 500% since the beginning of 2019.

A shopping report for John Lewis in Britain shows that shoppers now prefer "longer and more loose clothes" to "tight clothes that restrict movement."

This year, sales of knee-length dresses increased by 152% and sales of ankle-length pants increased by 33%.

Not only that of John Lewis, other retailers have noticed a boom in modest clothing sales, such as Marks & Spencer and Asus, according to the BBC.

Why did it flourish?
Meeting the needs of consumers and generating huge profits have been the engine of the industry's prosperity and the exhibition of "Contemporary Islamic Fashion" in America, to illustrate how Muslim women express elegance. Muslim designers such as Faiza Bouissa have shed light on this trend and trying to dress Western companies such as Christian Dior and Nike to meet the needs of Muslim women and keep up with the emerging fashion today, as modest fashion is a fast growing fashion sector valued at about $ 44 billion. Annually, according to Newsweek.

In a study of the behavioral habits of medium-cost fashion consumers, the first researcher at the Islamic Council for Fashion Design Romana Mirza, found that they are "smart" shoppers with firm and thoughtful views on brands, and that their needs will continue to take the lead in shaping this market.

In recent years, Western brands have made attempts to keep up with that fashion, according to the British magazine Vogue.Every season, the retail company Mango exports 'decent' collections of jackets, kaftan and dresses. "Nike" sell clothes designed for veiled.

The shift towards "modest fashion" can be seen with the emergence of veiled supermodels, such as Ikram Abdi Omar, who walked on the podium designed by British fashion designer Molly Goddard at London Fashion Week, and famous model Halima Aden, who made headlines as the first supermodel to wear hijab. The cover of the British magazine "Vogue", since it is no longer surprising to see models wearing hijab and show modest fashion.