THERE ARE SO MANY fashion weeks these days, from the Big Four (London, New York, Paris and Milan) to Tokyo, Rio, Miami and Abu Dhabi, among others, that I often think I could pass the year going from one to another, the way John Cheever’s Swimmer stroked his way across the pools of the suburbs.
But even to a jaded observer, a fashion event took place last week that seemed…. well… not like the other ones: The Islamic Fashion Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I was not the only one who found it confusing. “Islamic fashion festival? Just doesn’t make sense,” one young Muslim girl tweeted.
But that, it turned out, was precisely the point.
Models in designs by designer Calvin Thoo at the “Islamic Fashion Festival” in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
image credit – Vincent Thian/Associated Press
As Reina Lewis, (a professor of cultural studies at the London College of Fashion and the author of “Muslim Fashion: Contemporary Style Cultures,”) said in a phone call: “Every time there is a moral panic in the West about Muslims as a civilizational “other”, whether it is about the jihadization [of radical Islamists] or whatever, it is illustrated with a picture of women wearing the hijab or abaya, shrouded in black.” To combat [that] or replace a fashion image — even one that seems effectively an anti-fashion image — what better tool than fashion itself? Clothing is, after all, essentially a common language, and hence a potential shortcut to global recognition.”
Simply consider the words of the designer and blogger Dian Pelagi, whom The Jakarta Post called “the unofficial poster girl for the introduction of Indonesian Islamic fashion to the world” and who specializes in rainbow-tinted tie-dyed chiffons and silks combined with African detailing that also just happen to cover the head and body. “I think that if Islamic fashion can gain traction in America, it will change people’s perceptions of Islam and Islamic fashion,” she told that newspaper.
A look from designer Dian Pelangi at the “Jakarta Fashion Week” image credit – Beawiharta/Reuters
Similarly, the festival, which began in 2006 and has grown into a thrice-yearly event (most recently a four-day showcase for 26 designers from not only Malaysia but also Singapore, Indonesia and Pakistan ~Vanessa Friedman for The New York Times (please click here to read more by Vanesa Friedman)
JM COUTURE STYLE 