Modest fashion and women empowerment: A new sense of confidence
“Modest fashion is a new sense of confidence,” said Faiza Ali. Ali is a third-year early childhood studies student at the University of Guelph-Humber.
She started wearing the hijab at 12-years-old and was not really into fashion at that time. Ali said that when it was hard to find modest clothes her mom would sew together long-sleeved dresses, and shirts for her.
“Modest Fashion is not a limitation, it’s expressing myself as a whole without having to accentuate specific parts of my body,” said Ali.
Whenever she has an event to attend, Ali often goes onto social media to look at blogs that can help her with different styles. One blogger Ali mentioned was Dina Torkia, also known as Dina Tokio. Torkia is a modest fashion blogger in London, England who has over 500 thousand subscribers on YouTube.
This video includes Dina Torkia styling the hijab in different ways:
In a video she shared, Torkia talks about the hijab and describes that women of other faiths also practice dressing modestly. She also talks about how she is proud of her hijab because it represents her religion and her style. She expresses her style by incorporating different colours and patterns of scarves that complement her clothing, while staying true to her values.
Elmah Chowdhury a public relations student at Guelph-Humber said, as people become more aware about modest fashion it gives women like her a sense of freedom.
“Look at this year’s New York Fashion Week, it was the first time that modest fashion was showcased on the runway. The designs were amazing,” Chowdhury said.
Anniesa Hasibuan is a Muslim designer from Indonesia. Hasibuan showcased her collection of silk and velvet tunics and gowns at this year’s New York Fashion Week. This was the first time the hijab was shown on the New York Fashion Week runway.
At 17-years-old Chowdhury said she decided to take a step further in her religion by being the first one in her family to wear the hijab.
“I feel that having modest wear in such a popular event like New York Fashion Week helps neutralize any negative association. And just shines light on the beauty of these clothes like any other line of designs,” said Chowdhury.
The International Modest Fashion and Design Festival is an annual event that recently started in Toronto. This year’s event had a theme of women empowerment. Fatima Beg, the festival director of IMFDF described what it is like to be apart of the event.
“The main message is encouraging and joining forces with other women. We celebrate women led businesses and the beauty of covering the body. There is a sisterhood component and bonding from beginning to end,” said Beg.
Beg said that the founder of IMFDF Nateka Pitter reached out to her and she was left inspired by Pitter’s idea of creating this event for women all over the world. Ever since then, Beg has been apart of the IMFDF team.
IMFDF Runway photographer: Haafizah Khaderoo
Tusma Sulieman a videographer at the IMFDF said the event was an unforgettable experience.
“A safe space was created where women can successfully collaborate and speak on their lived experience. I had the opportunity to meet young women from different cultures, religions and nationalities, all of these women were very passionate,” said Sulieman.
Sulieman is a community and social service work student at George Brown College. She also enjoys videography and is working on a documentary about Islamophobia.
IMFDF also had special guest bloggers and entrepreneurs who have successful media platforms. Nour Kaiss is one of the special guests at IMFDF.
Kaiss recently launched an app named Souqina that brings other entrepreneurs together to create a business of their own.
“Souqina is a platform that enables people to showcase their creative products and ideas,” said Kaiss.
In this video Kaiss and other women show that they are capable of achieving anything. They also speak out on issues that women often face:
“In a world where women, particularly Muslim women are stigmatized, it was empowering to be apart of a movement where these stigmas were being addressed and eliminated,” Said Sulieman.
About the Author
Haafizah Khaderoo a journalism student who loves pineapple, enjoys music and fashion. Haafizah wants to pursue a career in Television Broadcasting and hopes to host a show of her own, impacting lives in a positive way.
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