Last month, supermodel Halima Aden announced her return to fashion after a three-year hiatus. Aden, who was the first woman to wear a headscarf on the cover of Vogue, left the industry due to difficulties in reconciling her faith and career. Aden, a devout Muslim and a proud hijab wearer, has previously shared her frustration with fashion’s attitude towards modest dressing. Announcing her departure from the podium, She said: “Looking back now, I did what I said I would never do, which meant compromising who I was to fit in.”
Now Aden is aware that changes have been made since his departure and told Grazia he is excited to see what more the industry can do to finally bring modest dressing into the mainstream. “If we continue on this path, we will see permanent change,” he says in the cover interview. “I was lucky enough to come first. But I’m not the last.”
Aden’s reemergence comes at an interesting time when interest in conservative fashion is increasing. Searches for “modest fashion clothes” on Pinterest increased by 80% compared to last year, and searches for “modest clothes” increased by 40%. “Thanks to growing search data, it’s clear that more considered and covered looks are becoming increasingly popular, especially among Gen Z,” says Jenna Waller, Pinterest UK head of fashion.
From Cos to Arket, modest styles are proliferating on the high street; Max Mara’s collection at Milan fashion week was consciously designed to showcase modest looks. As the brand’s creative director, Ian Griffiths, puts it: “My interpretation of reputation is what I’m showing today. “Clothes that best show off the beauty of the wearer, but in a way that never degrades them.”
Quiet luxury, vintage money and Scandi minimalism are trending on TikTok with billions of views, and they all have in common an understated aesthetic with muted tones, long hemlines and a penchant for modesty.
However, this resurgence has caused some disappointment among Muslim content creators who feel they have been overlooked. They point out the double standard when the fashion industry and media call modesty “desirable” and choose not to. In popular culture, dressing modestly in connection with Islam is seen as restrictive and even oppressive., but when an influencer has an aesthetic choice, the tone around them feels quite different.
The double standard is nicely summed up by a wedding that took place earlier in the year. TikTok exploded when Sofia Richie married music executive Elliot Grainge in April. Many people praised Richie, the model daughter of American singer Lionel Richie, for her decision to dress “modestly”; She wore three signature Chanel dresses, and the first one in particular, with its high neck, long sleeves, and intricate beading, was modest in nature. Users crowned Richie the “modest queen” on TikTok and shared ideas on how to achieve modest looks, including layering techniques to ensure full coverage.
One user on “Muslim women are trying hard to make people understand that veiling is a quality and elegance, and that it is not always a manifestation of oppression,” she continued.
The evidence of this struggle is abundant. In September, for example, a French court upheld a decision to ban abayas, a loose-fitting dress worn by many Muslim women, in public schools.
Mariah Idrissi, the first model to wear a hijab for H&M in a 2015 campaign, sees this double standard at a time when modesty is not only acceptable but aspirational. “When a celebrity does something that is normal for many, it’s bound to suddenly turn into an event.” He is aware that even the H&M campaign that boosted his career bears signs of this double standard. “Before the campaign, there were so many Muslim bloggers and YouTubers promoting conservative fashion, and no one gave them any time of day,” he says. But Idrissi is grateful that she was the one chosen for the campaign: “I am Muslim and this representation is very important to show that this is not just a trend. It would be strange if they put a hijab on a model who is not modest. We made the campaign happen.”
Some brands have taken steps to increase inclusivity when it comes to modest options. For example, both Louis Vuitton and Net-a-Porter recently launched Ramadan arrangements.
But Minal Malik, senior lecturer at the London College of Fashion, says the aim should be to ensure there is no distinction between conservative fashion and “regular fashion”, to ensure modesty is not seen as a trend and is only recognized through seasonal adjustments. “Western brands,” she says, “are important in making modest fashion more accessible, and this is a way of breaking down stereotypes and improving understanding between different cultures.”
Brands like The Reflective, an online marketplace for the latest in modest high fashion, are challenging perceptions. An important feature is the brand’s attempt to appeal to everyone. “We removed religious language from our brand,” say founders Liza Sakhaie and Ariella Immerman. “We always try to represent different groups with the images we create,” they say. “This way it feels like the platform is for everyone.”
There is also a need for more options and an understanding that there is no one-size-fits-all style of clothing when it comes to modesty. “It’s not all about long dresses,” says Malik. Let us return again to Eden and his triumphant return. What better testament to the fashion-forward ability of dressing modestly than her beaming from a magazine cover, wearing an outfit that’s as fashionable as it is modest?
To read the full version of this newsletter, featuring this week’s trending topics and solved wardrobe dilemmas on The Measure, subscribe to receive the Fashion Briefing in your inbox every Thursday.