by Last month, supermodel Halima Aden announced her return to fashion after a three-year hiatus. Aden, the first woman to wear a hijab on the cover of Vogue, quit the industry citing difficulties in reconciling her faith and career. A devout and proud Muslim hijabi, Aden has previously shared her frustrations with fashion’s perception of modest dressing. Announcing her departure from the pile, she said: “Looking back now I did what I said I would never do, which is to compromise who I am to fit in.”
Now, Aden recognizes that changes have been made since her departure – and told Grazia she’s excited to see what else the industry can do to finally bring modest dressing into the mainstream. “If we continue this way, we will see lasting change,” she says in her cover interview. “I was blessed enough to be the first. But I will not be the last.”
Aden emerges again at an interesting moment when moderate fashion is gaining attention. On Pinterest, searches for “modest fashion outfit” have increased by 80% since last year and “modest outfit” by 40%. “Through the growing search data, it’s clear that more casual and covered up looks are becoming more popular, especially among gen Z,” says Jenna Waller, Pinterest UK’s head of fashion.
From Cos to Arket, modest styles are becoming ubiquitous on the high street, and Max Mara’s collection at Milan fashion week was consciously curated to showcase modest looks. As the brand’s creative director Ian Griffiths said: “Today is my expression of dignity. Clothes that show the wearer in the best light, to show their beauty but in a way that never degrades them.”
Quiet luxury, old money and Scandi minimalism are trends on TikTok with billions of views – and they all have a laid-back aesthetic with soft tones, long hemlines and a tendency towards modesty.
But this outburst has caused some frustration among Muslim content creators, who feel ignored. They point to a double standard around when the fashion industry and the media choose “desirables”, and when they don’t. In popular culture it is characterized by dressing modestly when it is linked to Islam being restrictive or even oppressive, but the tone around it feels very different when it’s an aesthetic choice of an influencer.
The double standard is neatly summed up by a wedding that took place earlier in the year. When Sofia Richie married music executive Elliot Grainge in April, TikTok exploded. Richie, the model daughter of the American singer Lionel Richie, was praised by many for her decision to dress “moderately” – she wore three custom-made Chanel dresses and the first one in particular was high-necked, long-sleeved and intricately beaded. in its nature. On TikTok, users crowned Richie the “modest queen” and shared their opinions on how to achieve a modest look, including layering techniques to ensure full coverage.
One user on X expressed their frustration: “Is it normal for me to feel frustrated with the saying that Sofia Richie ‘started’ the modesty trend? Muslim women are fighting so hard to make people understand that covering has class and elegance,” she continued, “and is not always a sign of oppression.”
There is a lot of proof of that fight. In September, for example, a French court upheld a ruling banning abayas, a loose dress worn by many Muslim women, in state schools.
Mariah Idrissi, the first model to wear a hijab for H&M, in a campaign in 2015, sees that this double standard is over when modesty is not only considered acceptable but also aspirational. “It’s inevitable that when a celebrity does something that’s normal for many, suddenly it’s a thing.” She recognizes that even the H&M campaign that inspired her career had signs of that double standard. “There were so many Muslim bloggers and YouTubers promoting modest fashion before the campaign and nobody gave them the time of day,” she says. But Idrissi is grateful that she was chosen to do the campaign: “I am a Muslim and that representation is essential to show that it is not just a trend, it would be strange if they followed a hijab on an immoderate model and did the campaign.”
Some brands have made strides to increase inclusiveness when it comes to moderate options. Recently, for example, both Louis Vuitton and Net-a-Porter launched Ramadan editorials.
But to ensure that modularity is not seen as a trend, recognized only through seasonal changes, Minal Malik, a senior lecturer at the London College of Fashion, says the aim should be to make no distinction between moderate fashion and “mainstream fashion”. “Western brands,” she says, “are important in making modest fashion more accessible and it’s a way to break down stereotypes and foster understanding between different cultures.”
Brands such as The Reflective, an online marketplace for the latest high-fashion items, are a defiant attitude. A central element is the brand’s attempt to appeal to everyone. “We took a religious approach to branding,” say founders Liza Sakhaie and Ariella Immerman. “With the images we create we always try to represent different groups,” they say. “That way the platform feels like it is for everyone.”
There also needs to be better choice and an understanding that there is no one way to dress when it comes to modesty. “They’re not all long dresses,” says Malik. Back again to Aden and his triumphant return. What better proof of her ability to be modestly dressed than fashion forward than her, stepping off the cover of a magazine, wearing an outfit as fashionable as it is modestly forward.
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