Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

altmuslim

Home
Muslim
Modest Muslim Fashion Show Caters to Mixed-Gender Audience

Modest Muslim Fashion Show Caters to Mixed-Gender Audience

Last updated on: October 17, 2016 at 2:12 pm by Guest Contributor

Modest Muslim Fashion Show Caters to Mixed-Gender Audience 2016-10-17T14:12:02-04:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Models from the Malikah Festival. Image source: Saideh Jamshidi

By Saideh Jamshidi

Lee Mozena, director of Zena Consulting, organized a mixed-gender modest couture fashion show to celebrate diversity, multiculturalism and different standards of modest fashion in the Pacific Northwest last week. Malikah Festival was the product of the effort, funded by Redmond Arts and Culture Commission, which took place at Redmond Senior Center.

“I think it is very hard to get accurate information about Muslims, and it is hard for people, especially newcomers, to get to know each other,” said Mozena. “When we get to know each other at a very simple level, relationships changes and things happen.”

More than five designers from Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia presented their clothes on three sets of runways. The first runway depicted black abayas of soft and delicate fabric with lots of details in the design. The second runway included formal dresses worn by Muslim women in public places around the world, including Gulf countries and the Middle East. And the last runway displayed colorful dresses women wear in weddings and formal parties.

“It was too much to keep up with in such a short [timeframe],” said Chema Jamel Oh, an American-Tunisian designer. “Any dress you want, you go to Nordstrom, and you find it; you go to Macy’s, and you find it. But they are all normal. I do not wear normal. I do not do normal. My design has to be eye-catching,” she said.

Modest fashion shows within the Muslim world usually take place in all-women settings. But Malikah Festival decided to go mixed-gender in order to show the modest fashion to men. “From an aesthetic point of view, when you take away the sexiness of Western fashion, a whole other elements emerges,” said Mozena. “It is something we do not see in American culture. So, I am very intrigued by taking away the cleavage and the skin; and yet, you pare down to the beauty of women.”

But, beauty is only a part of the game. The global Muslim clothing market is forecasted to be worth $327 billion by 2020, according to the Global Islamic Economy report conducted by Thomson Reuters financial institute. International retailers such as Mango, Marks and Spencer, H & M, Uniqlo and Dolce and Gabbana have launched ranges of modest fashion aimed at Muslim and modest consumers.

Mozena believes that the modest couture fashion industry is a niched, affluent and growing market with few competitors. “We know that modest fashion is growing, and we know that fashion transcends religions and nations,” said Mozena. “As a business person, I want to pay attention to any business that is growing. And I know that many business owners share that idea.”

Gathering fashion, beauty, elegance, money and community together is a challenge that some Muslims and non-Muslims are willing to face.

“When I think about Muslim women, I think about hijab, about covering their bodies; I think they [Muslim women] are reserved and not very expressive” said Crystal Shin, a Chinese-American attendee to the festival. “But here, I saw elaborate designs and beautiful fabrics, and the strong presence of the beautiful women [who were] very confident,” she said.

Show organizers used models with different backgrounds and body types. Among them was an American female firefighter from Redmond as well as a few male models.

“[Since] the first time I went to a hijab night at a mosque in November, I have been curious. Especially with all the news I wanted to understand the women’s side. And I have been fascinated ever since,” said Lori Murton, a retired computer programmer. “Any time I hear about a multicultural event, especially getting inside Muslim women’s lives, I want to come and learn more,” said Murton while tattooing the back of her hand with henna.

There were about nine vendors at the spacious corner of the building. Owners of different businesses or sellers of various products were very excited about Malikah Festival. “I want to put a lot of stuff together from different cultures,” said Michaela Bint Michael, owner of Al-Andalus Apparel. Showing her prayer beads, Michael explained, “So, a design like this, these gold beads are African, this Hemza is Turkish, this couchi is Afghani silver. So, it is really a mixture of everything. It is kind of global.” she said.

After a year of planning and communicating with different Muslim and non-Muslim organizations, Mozena was finally able to bring Malikah Festival to life this week. “What we created here is for mainstream people who are not Muslim … they are not new Americans… to get a chance to practice a new set of values and thinking,” said Mozena.

Saideh Jamshidi is an Iranian-American journalist, and founder of Goltune, an online digital magazine focusing on Muslim women fashion and lifestyle.

Previous Post

October 16, 2016

A Prayer to End the Election-Induced Nightmare

Next Post

October 18, 2016 Confronting the New Southern Strategy of Anti-Black Racism and Islamophobia

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2012 Elections 30 Dayd 30 Writers (2017) 30 Days 30 Writers 30 Days 30 Writers (2015) 30 Days 30 Writers (2016) 30 Days 30 Writers (2018) 30 Days 30 Writers 2017 Ali Asadullah Ali Eteraz Alper Bilgili Arthur Richards Asides Asma Uddin Black History Month Briefings Charles Turner Commentary Cyrus McGoldrick Eman H Aly Fatimah Popal Hajj Hajj and Dhul Hijjah Hesham Hassaballa Hisham Hellyer Ibrahim Abusharif Inas Younis Irfan Yusuf Jalal Baig Junaid Afeef Laila Alawa Laila Alwala Mas'ood Cajee Muqtedar Khan Nakia Jackson Newsmakers Parvez Ahmed Podcasts Rabia Chaudry Rafia Zakaria Ramadan Reviews Safiyyah Ally Saud Inam Shahed Amanullah Svend White The Opinionated Oncologist Visions Wajahat Ali Zahed Amanullah Zahir Janmohamed Zainab Khan

Select a Month November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Let my people go"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jesus Moses Paul Pharaoh