06
@Glam.Halal
JULY-AUGUST. 2019
FASHION
True pioneer
of modest fashion
Rabia Zargapur found meaning in Muslimah wear after tragedy
A
BY MARIA AZMAN FROM OBSCURITY
TO WORLD-RENOWNED
S the saying by Lao Tzu goes,
“A journey of a thousand miles
begins with a single step”,
Rabia Zargarpur, a successful
world class multi-award win-
ning fashion entrepreneur
and designer, started off her Modest Fashion
career in her backyard in United States of
America (USA) when the industry is yet to
exist. Fast-forward 18 years later, Rabia is
now acclaimed by Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, CNN,
BBC and among others as the pioneer of the
Modest Fashion globally. Her journey in modest fashion started
during her teen years when she was work-
ing at Valentino in New York. Following
that, she interned at Fashions Magazines
while attending fashion school in F.I.T.N.Y.
She was continuing her study in business
degree in UOP California when she founded
her eponymous fashion brand ‘Modest and
Ethical Designer Fashion Brand, Rabia Z’.
Regarded as an expert authority on Modest
Fashion and personal leadership transition,
Rabia has had an immense success with
both her brand and advisory and mentoring
programs. Her brand has been showcased in
the world’s fi rst Modest Fashion runaways
and fashion weeks across New York, Miami,
London, South Africa, Karachi, Qatar, Abu
Dhabi, Milan and Dubai.
Her passion for the modest fashion indus-
try is magnifi ed through the launching of
the fi rst Modest Fashion Focused Mentor-
ship Program in the world, under Rabia Z’s
Modest Fashion Academy, with the interest
to successfully create the next generation
of Modest Fashion labels that are global. She
adds, ‘One’s learning process is always ongo-
ing’. Rabia’s list of success continued when
she was appointed as the Chairwoman of the
inaugural Modest Fashion Summit.
IN TIMES OF TRAGEDY
According to Rabia during the World
Halal Conference (WHC 2019)’s parallel
session, she ventured into this now grow-
ing industry post the 9/11 attack. Giving
the situation at that time, where the hate
crime is high, she was asked by her close
relatives to remove her hijab to avoid any
problem.
However, she strive to stay strong. Her
early vision to champion women through
modest and ethical fashion later escalates to
help create high-performance female profes-
sionals who are truly world class leaders in all
aspects of the fashion industry.
Rabia (second from right) was
one of the speakers invited to this
year’s World Halal Conference,
sharing her journey in building the
modest fashion industry into what
it is today.