FIVE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INAUGURAL DUBAI MODEST FASHION WEEK

1 With the aim of highlighting the latest trends in this segment, Dubai Modest Fashion Week featured more than 40 fashion shows in Burj Park this weekend, displaying the creations of designers from more than 20 countries. It was a truly international affair, with brands from the region joined by designers from as far afield as Canada, the United States, Malaysia and Turkey. Japan was represented, in the form of Huw Roman Tokyo, a modest wear brand that uses fabrics sourced in Japan, works with local pattern-makers and manufactures all its products in the country. The brand presented a highly contemporary take on modest wear, along with a welcome splash of colour and bold graphic motifs that had a slightly masculine edge. 2 It was probably inevitable that Halima Aden would steal the show. The poster child for modest fashion walked the runway for the event’s opening event, wearing Rasit Bagzibagli and Muslima Wear. She was a vision in white in this creation by Turkish-Cypriot designer Bagzibagli, sporting a ruffled column dress and matching turban. Aden also took part in a talk entitled From Nike to the Cover of Vogue, where she was joined by social-media celebrity Dina Tokio, Egyptian athlete Manal Rostom, Dubai-based media personality Haifa Beseisso and British Muslim Miss Universe contestant Muna Jama to discuss the subject of modesty moving into the mainstream. 3 Shades of white also dominated the Dosougi Designs runway, where elegant dresses and trouser suits were coupled with oversize accessories, including strings of bauble-esque faux pearls. The founders were born in the United Kingdom and raised in the United States to Arabic parents of Sudanese, Moroccan and Turkish decent. Their mission statement is clear: to establish millennial Muslims and modest wear in mainstream fashion as part of a new era of inclusion, and create clothing for hijabwearing consumers in “every profession, every setting, in every country, if they so choose... Modest women across the globe appreciate art, design and fashion, and make up a huge market untapped by the fashion economy.”

4 Anotah is no emerging brand. The Kuwaiti women’s and childrenswear designer was established in 1998 and currently operates 25 stores across the region, with a presence in the UAE in Abu Dhabi’s Dalma Mall and Dubai’s City Centre Mirdif. It also sells its reasonably priced apparel online. Dedicated to “runway-conscious modest women of all ages across the Middle East and internationally”, Anotah presented a sharp, largely monochromatic collection at Dubai Modest Fashion Week that offered playful variations of traditional modest silhouettes, while still remaining suitably demure. It was a firm reminder that modesty and stylishness can comfortably coexist. 5 A new brand based in Malaysia, Aere, which is the Latin word for air, is the brainchild of Raja Nadia Sabrina, a social-media influencer and former lawyer. With collections called Hope, Love, Life, Feel, Change and suchlike, the brand is defined by the materiality of its creations. The Essence of Grace line is a case in point, with its focus on neutrals, blush tones and blue hues, appearing on materials such as organza, tulle, sequins, chiffon and taffeta. At Dubai Modest Fashion Week, one of the highlights of the Aere show was this sweeping, sequined gown that shifted iridescently from silver to a stunning shade of aqua blue.

Selina Denman