The stars are flowing into Dubai at the moment, and that includes the brightest lights in the modest fashion movement, Halima Aden and Mariah Idrissi, who popped up at Dubai’s Modest Fashion Week last weekend.
There were fashion shows, of course, as well as talks from dozens of modest fashion influencers and designers, including Safiya Abdallah (who got her jacket on Gwen Stefani at the singer’s private Dubai concert earlier this month), Melanie Elturk, Leena Asad and Habiba da Silva.
Halima Aden, (who has walked the runway for brands including Kanye West’s Yeezy and Max Mara) walked at the opening show, which featured designs from Rasit Bagzibagli and Muslima Wear.
Another of the show’s highlights was the talk ‘From Nike to the Cover of Vogue’ which saw influencer and the face of the recently launched Nike hijab, Manal Rostom, debate on taking the modest movement mainstream and the importance of brand representation.
Both days were closed with a show from Dubai Modest Fashion Week beauty partners, which featured clothing creations by Dubai-based designer Safiya. ‘It was an incredible event and I’m so overwhelmed by the feedback I received,’ she told Friday. ‘Dubai is the perfect place for the event as we have such a fashion forward community here and of course many women want to dress modestly.’
Modest Fashion Week – the event has also taken place in London and Istanbul – was co-founded by Franka Soeria. ‘We have welcomed some of the modest fashion industry’s shining stars from the around the world to this truly innovative city,’ she said. ‘With its position as the centre for modest fashion in the GCC, this is another step in strengthening the movements already burgeoning influence on the mainstream fashion industry.’
