Looking Back on the London Modest Fashion Festival
Anyone who follows this site will know that we are hugely excited about the rise of modest fashion ranges. In fact, the growing prominence of hijabs and other modest wear in marquee runway shows, high street chains, and even athletic lines makes us think that ‘modest fashion’ is fast becoming a staple of regular ol’ fashion fashion.
To further reinforce this idea, London played host to its first ever Modest Fashion Festival back in October. The event, which took place at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, was put on by London-based Doctor, Fahreen Mir, and human rights barrister, Sultana Tafadar.
The goal of the runway show, the organisers explained, was to not only promote the creativity and innovation of modest fashion lines, but to also show how the outfits can appeal to anyone regardless of religion or culture.
Speaking to Mvslim, Tafadar said: ‘We have seen modest fashion gaining great momentum with top luxury brands…Fashion brands all over the world seem to be embracing the view that fashion does not necessarily entail revealing a lot of flesh.’
She went on to say: ‘I wanted to stimulate and encourage the modest fashion market and that’s why we started the platform and organised this event.’
Judging by the photos, the runway show was a glorious success, full of shimmering, bold designs that betrayed the ever-so-slightly limiting connotations of the event’s name: modest, if the clothes on the models are anything to go by, doesn’t have to mean boring.
The Modest Fashion Festival also scored another win with the catwalk appearance of Halima Aden. The Somali supermodel, Ummahsonic (and Rihanna) fave, and soon-to-be global megastar certainly raised the profile of the show and probably ensured it will become a fixture on the London fashion calendar for years to come.
Not to take anything away from the incredible designers featured, that is, but it’s always a big deal to see a hot name co-sign a new show.
Mir and Tafadar will soon be bringing their modest show to venues in Dubai and Doha. When you couple this with the growing range of similar events, along with the fact that blue-chip mega-brands like Nike and Dolce & Gabbana are releasing modest ranges, it’s clear that this is a trend that’s here to stay.
To keep up to date with the Modest Fashion Festival movement, check out their website and be sure to follow them on Instagram.
The current season of Project Runway features contestant Ayana Ife, a hijabi who’s fast becoming a fan favourite thanks to her slay-mongering modest wear.
Tasnim Jara, a Muslim bride in Bangladesh, recently elected to ditch the make-up for her wedding day, as she didn’t want to comply with societal pressures.
Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty makeup line is setting a new industry standard in terms of inclusivity, and we are here to tell you that we are big fans.
