06
@Glam.Halal
sept-oct. 2019
Fashion
Fans crowd Halima Aden, who posed
in a high-coverage “burkini” swimsuit
for US-based magazine Sports
Illustrated earlier this year.
Fashion-forward
‘hijabistas’ draw F
credit and criticism
The evolution of modest
fashion comes with both
sides of the coin
ashela Jailanee clearly recalls
how the hijab in 1990s Singa-
pore was inextricably linked to
the color black, the absence of
makeup, and fashion deprivation.
Fast forward 20 years and noth-
ing could be further from the truth.
Today, many young Muslim women who
wear the veil are stylish and glamorous,
often twisting the headscarf into a turban
style instead of pinning it under the chin in
order to show off their dangling earrings, and
adding high heels, jeans and luxury designer
bags. Bold makeup is also part of the trend,
including fake eyelashes and bright red
lipstick.
Hijab evolved
STYLED
MUSLIMS:
Southeast
Asians are seen
to be more
accepting to
the ‘hijabista’
lifestyle
currently
sweeping the
fashion industry.
“When I was growing up, the hijab was
supposed to be ‘non-fashion.’ Now it’s
completely different,” says Jailanee, 45, a
researcher at Singapore’s Nanyang Techno-
logical University and co-author of a paper
on so-called hijabistas, a word combining
hijab and fashionista to describe hip young
Muslim women who wear Islamic dress but
in a stylish way.
Jailanee attributes this change to social
media, which she says is playing a key role
in the growing demand for modest fashion,
turning Muslim wear, seen by many as man-
datory for Muslim women who have reached
puberty, into covetable goods.
Muslims today are exposed to “social
media, the internet, access to a whole world
of commercialization,” says Jailanee.
Indonesian designer Dian Pelangi is one
such influencer. With nearly five million Ins-
tagram followers, she has been credited with
popularising so-called Muslim street wear
in Indonesia, helping young Indonesian