Modest Wear Entering The Mainstream Fashion

The fashion industry has undergone a major transformation in the last few years. Earlier, designers and famous fashion houses used to gain name and fame through designs that had revealing cuts and displaying torsos. However, today, the 'modest attire' which was once scarcely considered as fashionwear and was only associated with Muslim women, have started gaining momentum in the mainstream fashion arena. Now, women from all walks of life and various faiths and religions are proudly donning these attires.

There was a time when Muslim women had an arduous time looking for a perfect outfit for themselves that can even go with the latest fashion trends while respecting their religious beliefs. The choices were unfortunately very limited. If a woman wanted to dress modestly, she either had too monotonous options or just plain outdated ones. This led to the initiation of modest fashion movement, which aimed to provide stylish yet acceptable clothing options for women, as per their faith. Today, this idea has stepped into various territories and the whole world is accepting it passionately.

The high-end fashion brands are also taking up this trend happily and have introduced modest fashion lines specifically to penetrate the untapped Muslim market. This is definitely good news for the young women who want to wear something trendy and fashionable while respecting their religious values.

This movement has now become a multi-billion dollar industry that is attracting all nationalities, backgrounds, and faiths. According to the state of the Global Islamic Economy Report, produced by Reuters, modest fashion purchases were around US $244 billion in 2015. Currently, the industry is worth a whopping US $322 billion globally. Recently Pinterest UK revealed that searches for 'modest fashion' went up 500% since the beginning of 2018.

Vanessa Friedman, the New York Times chief fashion critic, declared the "modest fashion" a defining trend of 2010s. Some of the leading global brands such as Zara and Nike have also started investing in this Muslim Fashion market, which was earlier, considered disregarded. In recent years, brands like Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, DKNY, Uniqlo, and Mango have also debuted their modest clothing lines.

In 2016, an Indonesian fashioner Anniesa Hasibuan exhibited her collection with Hijabs at New York fashion week (NYFW). This collection gained high appreciations from major fashion buyers. Recently, designer Lisa Vogl also launched the Verona Collection. This is an apparel brand for the Muslim women. Instead of baggy clothes, the brand features maxi shirt-dresses, cardigans, hand dyed hijabs, etc. The Arab fashion Week, held in April 2018 in Saudi Arabia has also displayed chic yet conservative designs. All these events reflect the huge growth potential of this modest fashion market.

In order to make it an eminent part of mainstream fashion, Islamic Fashion and Design Council (IFDC) has been established that works for the development of the Islamic fashion and design industry worldwide.

Modest fashion is steadily changing. It is beautiful, sophisticated and is gaining appreciation in western and eastern society.