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Glam Halal | July-August . 2021

To get some insights , VogueBusiness then reached out to TikTok influencer Maha Gondal . The 25-year-old influencer agreed that it was hard to find luxury brands that specifically design modest clothing . She said many brands had become more diverse and inclusive , but there were still limited choices for Muslims . This then had led the influencer to opt for independent designers .

It was noted the growth of the modest fashion market and suggested its excellent opportunities for premium brands . This market segment includes modest dressers who choose to wear them for religious and cultural purposes and those who do so for stylistic choices . It was stated that the fair fashion industry has a value of US $ 277 billion , and it is expected to reach US $ 311 billion by 2024 . It then showed Iran , Turkey and Saudi Arabia as some of the largest markets for modest fashion .

Hub for luxury brands

Aaliya Mia , a senior associate at DinarStandard , a strategy , research and advisory firm , told VogueBusiness that Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia , was a new possible hub for luxury brands . She also said Nigeria , with its sizeable Muslim population , has the same potential . It was then explained that modest dressers from the West and the Middle East have different wants and needs . Mia then made a remark that many women in the West put the emphasis more on fashion .

Maha , who resides in Canada , believed that notable luxury brands could break into the Western modest fashion industry . But she agreed that they had made little effort to market it properly to the Muslim consumers . She said this by citing the exclusivity of the brands ’ designs and campaigns .

Despite offering long scarves covering the hair , ears , and neck , very few luxury brands market these items as “ hijab ” or “ head coverings ”. According to the market intelligence platform Edited , along with other multi-brand retailers , Louis Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbana were the only luxury brand sites to have products labelled as “ hijab ”, “ head coverings ”, or “ headscarves ” in the past three months , across the UK and US .

However , despite the lack of inclusivity by many brands , it was noted that head covering options had increased by 47 per cent year-on-year .

Ghizlan Guenez , the founder of The Modist , told VogueBusiness that shopping for modest clothing was frustrating . She found there was always something lacking in them . Her frustration then led her to launch The Modist in 2017 , aiming to provide a curated platform for women to shop modest luxury clothing .

Ghizlan was very excited to see everything happening at the end of 2017 and back in 2018 on the runways .

She said : “ We know that modesty had become a bit of a macro-trend .”

However , she argued that brands might have different perception towards modest fashion and dismissed it as another shortlived trend .

“ Brands may be done after a couple of seasons , but this audience is not done with dressing modestly ,” said Alia Khan , founder and chairwoman of the Islamic Fashion Council .

Rawdah Mohamed , a Somali-Norwegian model who walked the runway for Max Mara in September , praised Max Mara for its inclusivity . She agreed , though , that many luxury brands in general needed to understand Muslim consumers .

The model argued that many brands seemed to have not conducted proper research on Muslim consumers , and some could not even differentiate between Ramadan and Eid .

“ They ’ ve made a collection just to tick the box and say , ‘ we catered to the Muslim woman ’ when they actually haven ’ t ,” said Rawdah .

“[ Muslim women ] are so tired of being presented the same mediocre collections again and again ,” she added . The model then shared that showing the brands how some pieces could be styled with hijab on was an experience she would cherish .

It was also stated that retailers such as Neta-Porter and MatchesFashion had started to provide more options for Muslim customers even though a bit late to the movement .

Levels of modest dressing are different from one country to another , said VogueBusiness . A modest capsule without variation or nuance also shows a lack of understanding of Muslim consumers . Nina Marston , a fashion consultant at Euromonitor , explained many different ways or styles in being modest . She emphasised that it was important for brands to explore them with their creativity to appeal to these consumers .

Having Muslims on design and marketing teams would also help brands to thrive in the modest fashion market . This is because many customers these days prefer diverse and inclusive brands . Additionally , inclusive teams make it easier for brands to have a clear understanding of these consumers .

Sara Gulamali , a founding member of the art collective Muslim Sisterhood , often felt like Muslim consumers were not represented authentically . For Muslim Sisterhood , Muslim consumers must be represented in the right way . It was noted that the collective had worked with brands like Daily Paper and Converse to improve the brands ’ understanding and stylings of modest fashion .