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Hijabi hipsters fuse fashion with faith

Fashion-conscious Muslim women from Kuala Lampur to Los Angeles who wear the Islamic headscarf, known as the hijab, have had to get creative.

By fusing both their sense of fashion with their faith, this growing group is re-interpreting traditional notions of what it means to dress conservatively. They're spawning a new market for niche fashion brands and finding unexpected supporters among some mainstream brands, as well as from conservative Christian and Orthodox Jewish women who also dress modestly.

"We want to be current in fashion and adhere to the tenets of our faith," said Ibtihaj Muhammad, who owns Louella, a fashion brand catering to women who combine modest dressing with fashion.

The Los Angeles-based brand has sold nearly 4,000 pieces since its launch three months ago. Muhammad, a professional athlete and member of the United States fencing team, said she struggled trying to find long-sleeved, floor-length dresses to wear when she travelled on speaking tours on behalf of Team USA and the State Department.

Some mainstream designers also have started to cater to this growing demand for stylish modest wear. This summer, DKNY released a collection during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan that sold exclusively in the Arabian Gulf. Karl Lagerfeld also brought his Chanel Cruise Collection this year to Dubai, unveiling designs inspired by the rich culture and patterns of the Middle East.

Still, the market is ripe for more investment said Albert Momdijan, founder and chief executive of Dubai-based Sokotra Capital.

"The Muslim population is the second largest population in the world with roughly 1.8 billion people so it's a large population that you definitely cannot ignore. And 50 per cent are below the age of 25," he said. "It's a young population, it's a growing population and it's a large addressable market."

The hipster hijabi movement is the byproduct of a young generation of Muslim women coming of age. It grew organically and continues to take on new meaning by the women who embrace it.

Summer Albarcha coined her photo-sharing Instagram account "Hipster Hijabis" in 2012, when she was just 16. She now has almost 23,000 people following her. Her loyal following prompted New-York based label Mimu Maxi, run by two Orthodox Jewish women, to send her one of their popular maxi skirts to model.

The collaboration caused a stir, with many Jewish customers blasting Mimu Maxi for featuring a Muslim woman in hijab. Albarcha says the experience only re-affirmed the universal struggle women of all faiths and backgrounds have when trying to find stylish conservative pieces to wear.

"It came out that our ideas of wanting modest fashion and in promoting it is something really similar and something we have in common between our religions," she said. "We should both be working together to embrace this idea and expand it."

There are also challenges from within the Muslim community. Women in hijab wearing eye-catching styles often find themselves at odds with conservatives who say hijab should be about covering a woman's beauty and concealing it from strangers.

"People are resistant to change and people like to keep things the same," said fashion blogger Maria Al-Sadek. "It's just like a stigma to be stylish and resemble Western wear sometimes."

In 2013, a group called Mipsterz, or Muslim Hipsters, made a short video of a group of American Muslim women skateboarding in heels and showing off their ultra-stylish hijabi styles. The video drew mixed reactions, including criticism from people who thought it bent too much toward Western notions of beauty and went against Islamic principles of humility.

Fashion insider Bong Guerrero, founder and chief executive of Fashion Forward, a platform in Dubai for local designers to showcase their collections, says the explosion of design-oriented clothing has given "a new perspective on hijabi style".

"Because hijabi has an archaic and demure connotation, adding hipster to it adds colour and fun," he said, but "is it modest fashion? It is conservative fashion? Is it Islamic fashion?"