I was reading this interesting Reuters article entitled “Fusion Muslim Chic hits Europe’s Streets”. It’s basically about young European Muslims adopting today’s fashion with a Muslim twist. Since today is the first day of Ramadan fasting, it would be a good timing to look deeper into it.
First of all, I’m not trying to educate about the Proper Muslim Fashion. I’m certainly not an expert in Muslim Fashion. I do not wear veil/hijab on daily basis and still in need to learn more. What I’m writing here is from an amateur’s point of view, without any political and religious meanings. My apologies in advance, to those who may feel offended.
After all, this is not a new subject. Hanzky had brilliantly started a post in this forum about Jilbab/Hijab Chic. Our lovely FD members have also posted some styling options, which are totally inspiring. Back home, my friends and I were always excited to dress up in Muslim-inspired outfits during the month of Ramadan. I know it’s so lame that we didn’t continue to dress up that way after celebrating Eid. Well, it’s our own personal decision anyway.
People tend to relate Arabic fashion to Muslim fashion. We can’t deny that there’s a strong connection between those two subjects. My first introduction to Arabic fashion happened when I lived in Tunisia and Jordan during my adolescence years. I was introduced to the beautiful pieces of delicate Jordanian tunics and caftans, and always glued to the TV screen whenever Queen Noor and Queen Rania of Jordan appeared.
My mom always brought me to Le Souk (a local traditional market) to shop for groceries. And I always tried to visit the stands selling the traditional arts & crafts, abayas, keffiyehs, Bedouin clothings, leather accessories, ethnic jewelries, hats, perfumes and many other things. Since caftan and tunic have been adapted widely into modern fashion, there’s no need further explanation about them here. But keffiyeh, which I’m sure some of you must be tired of it by now, was a huge trend in my junior high school around early 90s. Seeing people on the street wearing them in different colors last year, brought back my old memories. Little that I know, those keffiyehs actually have different patterns and symbolic meanings. Urban Outfitters and Delia’s had to remove the keffiyehs from their stores. Some close-minded people thought that they carry a hidden political message rather than a fashion statement. On the other hand, Balenciaga managed to beautifully capture the global fashion trend by designing a modified keffiyeh for their F/W 07 collection.
Balenciaga tribal scarves: www.style.com, www.balenciaga.com
Nom de guerre, a New York fashion label, has designed several Arabic inspired menswear collection for their 2005 F/W collection. From a hoodie to a casual tee printed with Arabic writings. *which hopefully won’t translate to something offensive to the Muslim community. Meanwhile, Dead, an Reykjavik street label has applied the keffiyeh print into a kid hoodie jacket.
nomdeguerre.net, dead.is
The thing that is really challenging, personally for myself, is to find head covers which are simple, modern yet also stylish. Besides the latest hit of turbans, this cool design of Capsters or sporty hijabs, by a Dutch designer, Cindy Van Den Bremen, is totally appealing. Quoting from her website, “the concept is based on the idea to give Muslim girls and their gym teachers in the Netherlands a safe alternative for the traditional hijab to wear during gym-class. The sports designs were realized in close co-operation with Muslim girls and an Imam.”
Capsters: www.capsters.com
I feel like we would see more girls wrapping their head with a scarf in the streets as a fashion statement this coming Fall and Winter. I spotted one worn by Renee, an ANTM finalist and the other one from the Sartorialist. This plaid ‘Scoodie’ (scarf+hoodie), as what they are called, in green and grey/brown colors from KASIL would also be a great option.
mikeandchris.com, thesartorialist.com, revolveclothing.com, cwtv.com
Mike & Chris has designed a brilliant F/W 2007 collection which would appeal to those who just want to slightly cover themselves in a more descent way. And they also have this cool head scarf which I found totally practical to wear for those who want to start wearing some Muslim-inspired outfits.
mikeandchris.com
We have seen several Muslim-inspired clothing in today’s fashion. More and more mainstream publications are trying to cater for the need of this specific market. One is ALEF magazine known for its wonderful editorial styling and the hip MSLM magazine, both headquartered in Europe. There’s also this Atlanta-based woman magazine, Azizah, and in Indonesia, we have Noor magazine, both are dedicated to Muslim women.
alefmag.com, studiobeige.nl/mslm.html
For the younger generation, there’s Muslim Girl magazine targeting young Muslim girls, a sort of “Muslim version” of Teen Vogue with a different flair.
muslimgirlmagazine.com
On the the launch and exhibition of MSLM magazine at Showroom Mama in Rotterdam, several innovative European-based fashion designers showcased their Muslim-friendly collection. Some of their installations could be seen on the very first picture of this article, and also below. Besides its controversial approach, realizing that there are many alternatives and options available for Muslim fashion-conscious people, is somehow refreshing.
showroommama.nl
Sources & images courtesy of: reuters.com, showroommama.nl, studiobeige.nl, wikipedia.org, www.dead.is, nomdeguerre.net, www.lizzypeters.nl, www.studiobeige.nl/MSLM.html, style.com, balenciaga.com, www.cvdbremen.nl, capsters.com, revolveclothing.com, thesartorialist.com, thehijabshop.com, mikeandchris.com, abayas.net, palestiniancostumearchive.org, souk.tunisia.com, alefmag.com, muslimgirlmagazine.com, azizahmagazine.com, cwtv.com, notcouture.com, noor.co.id
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wah. kbetulan skalii. i wear veil.! mau ih liat webny muslim girl magz! hehe.. thx ya! scra gw suka fashion, tp mgkn g gw terapin semua. tp gw suka bca ttg fashion!! hmm.. yummy!
good job DYS…informasi baru buat gw
i agree with you, it’s not easy to find head covers which are simple, modern yet also stylish. i like the sporty hijab. thanks DYS
dhila & mskellybag: you’re welcome
makasi jg uda willing to read this looong article *moga2x ga kapok ya ;P LOL.. glad to know that this would help cuz i’m still learning myself 
keren keren…kebetulan lg pgn bgt blajar pake jilbab tp yg stylish..mudah2an ini bisa jd inspirasi…thx DYS!
wah DYS, thanks banget nih infonya….:). Kalo di LN lebih modern dan simple ya model2 dan gaya berjilbabnya. Kalo yang disini, menurut saya kok malah jadi terlalu rame…terllau banyak bahan yang dipake ketika kita akan bergaya dalam mengenakan Jilbab.
Tapi mungkin ini pengaruh dari budaya yang sudah ada dan berlaku kali ya.:). Oh iya, kalo muslim di negara tercinta ini, gaya busana nya , terlalu ke arab-arab..:)
uhuhuh yang dair mike n chris keren2 sekalii..
btw thx for info nya ya Dys ..
Lies.. mungkin karena kebanyakan orang menyamakan antara arab dan islam
Well done DYS, BTW idenya Cindy untuk bikin sporty hijab bener2 bagus juga tuh. Inget banget deh gue dulu pas SMA waktu PE harus pake jilbab itu ribetnya gak karuan. Gue personally love how the turkish girl wear their veil and still managed to keep up with the current trend. Tidak harus selalu bergaya kearab2an dan pake abaya terus
bener Chi, sampe2 manggal bapak dan ibunya, Umi dan abi..hehhe, so arab….:)
keren skaliii DYS!! aku suka artikelmu!!
Dear DYS, thanks for the article, very inspiring. We want more…
Wahh…aku baru tau…ternyata okey2,aku baru pake jilbab 4 bulan ini, ternyata tepat waktunya, pas skarang mnurut gw lucu2 baju muslimnya kan???ga kayak dulu2…trimakasih ya…;p
Great article DYS and you obviously put a lot of effort into it. Kebetulan bgt sahabat gue baru pake jilbab dan lagi ngerasa kurang pede karena ngerasa dia gayanya jadi gitu2 aja. I will show this article to her. Thanks hon!
thankss Giiirlss for reading this never ending article….. ga kapok kan ya
Koukla: yeah it’s pretty obvious ya? hehe.. iya emang niat bgt niy, apalagi sejak majalah ALEF itu keluar, gw jd tambah penasaran, jd tak research lah pelan2, nge-bookmark link2x hehe
..
sebenarnya, ive really wanted to change people perception abt muslim fashion yg selalu di-considered as old-fashioned, elaborated, kuno, ribet, keramean, norak & ‘dangdut’.. dan ternyata, there are more & more moderate muslim women out there who are fashion conscious and think out of the box ! gw rasa di indonesia jg byk cewe2 kita yg berpikiran sama.. Ditambah gara2x baca berita bbrp bln yg lalu ttg cewe2 di Iran yg ditangkap oleh ‘polisi agama/fashion police(?)’ krn baju mereka yg ‘melanggar norma’ di sana ! huhu sedih banget.. jd kepacu deh buat nulis ini..beruntunglah cewe2 muslimah di indo kita tdk harus mengalaminya !
Moga2x temen lo ga perlu ragu2x lg berpakaian muslim ya.. ternyata bisa juga kok terlihat keren dan edgy, ga kalah dgn pakaian biasa & terbuka ! apalg dengan ‘scoodie’ itu, kalo beneran jd trend bisa2x semua kota2x fashion dunia terlihat spt kota tehran atau ankara/istambul haha
Putri: congratss ya uda siap berjilbab.. wish i hv more courage.. harusnya gak ada lg yg menghalangi gue ya.. apalagi setelah byk research gini ;P
Deszell : iya itu Cindy bagus skali ide nya.. sptnya di belanda, tersedia byk inovasi fashion utk kaum muslim nya, capsters nya sptnya praktis bgt .. dan bener bgt street style di turki keren2.. gw jg liat tuh dr link nya facehunter.
duniaindah, chekka, kumkum: you’re welcomeee.. hope this would inspire us all =)
Lies & chielicious: iya sayangnya budaya arab dan islam emang susah dipisahkan.. dan mike&chris itu emang keren siy, esp leather jackets nya.. distressed gt keren deh..hehe hanya yg ini siy ga muslim-friendly ;P ngatung gt soalnya haha
dan chielicious, coba ke link nya showroommama.nl , itu ada designer2 yg ikut pameran baju2nya mayan muslim-friendly jg..
weks ini reply commentsnya ga kalah pjg ama artikel haha
Baru nyadar gue kok belom komen di sini yaah, padahal gue suka banget artikelnya Dys..=))
Mike & Chris keren keren banget yaa baju nya, padahal gue nggak begitu suka hoodie2an, tapi keluarannya dia bagus bagus, kayanya di pakenya enak banget jadi tetep stylish without sacrificing comfort. tapi apa dayaaa, gue cukup beli knock off nya aja di old navy..haha…
hanzky, iya emang mahal itu brg mereka.. awal2 mereka emang naik sptnya gara2 berhasil buat slouchy leather jacket yg make hoodie, sptnya kulitnya lemess dan lembut bgt..gw pernah liat di barneys siy emang bener lemes dan aluss, tp tetap kemahalan utk gue jg.. mendingan gw tabung utk beli tas ;P teutep hehe..
Hi, really some of the designs aren’t suited for muslim women, leggins and a jacket? please.. Muslims women should wear loose fitting clothing, doesn’t have to be a patatoe bag, but nice neutral colours. I found this site http://www.hiwifashion.com to have a good range for both men and women (yes men have to wear loose long clothing as well) like long shorts and longer shirts are acceptable for men, and women need to wear hijaabs.. that cover them from head to wrists. So some of the photos are totally unacptable. Check out the site and get some ideas.
Dear Muslimah, thank you so much for your comments. BUT, please kindly refer to the 2nd paragraph, and the title itself. This article surely has a lot of flaws as it wasn’t intented from the beginning, to educate about the proper way of muslim fashion according to the Islamic laws & regulations. I apologize once again if you feel offended by this article. And thank you for providing us the link, you may also check Indonesian muslim fashion online stores, some are mentioned on our forum, Jilbab/Hijab Chic: http://fashionesedaily.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=501
Very insightful article
Thank you!
love this article alot!
mbak’e..majalah2 itu bisa dapet dimana ya?
selain untuk kepentingan pribadi, juga ada kaitannya dengan kerjaan nih
makasi banget yaaa…..
broken angel: makasiy.. maaf telat reply.. itu majalah2nya bisa di cek ke website nya utk tau distribusi penjualan nya.. klik di link majalah nya, ada tak kasi di artikel nya yah say =) kalo di US, muslim girl, alef dan azizah bisa dicari.. kalo mau kabarin eke aja yah
wah telat nih liat post ini hehehe…
soalnya lagi liat2 net tren busana muslim truss ada site ini jadi baru liat deh
biar gitu mo komen dikit ah
aku ga stuju nih komen ini
dari lies
“tapi mungkin ini pengaruh dari budaya yang sudah ada dan berlaku kali ya.:). Oh iya, kalo muslim di negara tercinta ini, gaya busana nya , terlalu ke arab-arab..:)”
aku dah pake jilbab dah lama bgt, dan slama itu juga aku my parent and family who also wear jilbab doesnt look a bit like arabic…
apalagi sekarang ada baju dalem tipis dan bergo (yang menurutku dari dulu juga dah ada sih) dipadukan dengan baju2 designer terkenal yang berlengan pendek ato bahkan tak berlengan menjadi makin gaya aja…
truss karena post ini sudah cukup lama, mungkin kamu2 sudah pada tau yah hehehe…
DYS…YuPs…
keren bnget ney baju2nya, gw suka…
Tapi emang DYS..
baju muslimah yg bner tuh emang mesti gak ketat, gak memperlihatkan bntuk tubuh, gak tipis or transparan dan jilbabnya harus menutupi dada.
Yaah gw rasa kita bisa modif baju2 di atas biar lebih shar’i…kya ganti leggingnya pake celana item yang longgar