These fashion designers are redefining modest clothing for Muslim women

Sarah started donning a headscarf sometime around 2017 when she got engaged to Aamir Chhabdia On the lookout for clothes that would complement her hijabi choice of lifestyle Sarah would make several visits to ZARA and HampM but return mostly disappointed or strike a compromise with clothes that fit the bill of modestyIt is often said that necessity is the mother of invention and it is not far from the truth for the Chhabdias who got married in December 2018 Their dire need for modest womenrsquos clothing led to the creation of a business that brings in their bread and butterhellip and a steady stream of oversized sweatshirts and coord sets forthe missusAamir Chhabdia his father Asif and wife Sarah run Modest Essentials which emerged from Sarahrsquos sartorial sensibilities Their Bandra Eastbased workshop manufactures original products that cater to the fashionable yet modest clothing needs of Muslim women PicShadab KhanThe overarching term of modest fashion is adhering to the Islamprescribed sensibility of covering onersquos limbs and head and wearing clothes that are loose fitting Sounds restrictive Only to the unimaginativeThe stylish Muslim woman wears flowing maxis and overshirts with baseball caps and beanies attached to scarves in the colours of the rainbow and its infinite variations She lengthens cute croptops to cover the hips and shortsleeves to cover arms with clever and customised extendersModern Muslim women who want to score fashion points but remain attached to the core ways of dressing modestly choose long Tshirt dresses coord sets and loose sweatshirts Pics CourtesyModest EssentialsldquoWe would check out a number of brands but Sarah couldnrsquot find muchrdquo says Aamir about how their brand was conceived ldquoWe realised there werenrsquot many options in India for modest fashion staples where you could dress to your liking without compromising on trends So we built Modest Essentials in 2018 and for the first six months it sold only hijabs It got a good response in the first year itself just via Instagram So we expanded into other pieces of clothing built a website and formed a company in 2019rdquo On Instagram the brand has a following of 143 lakhNow cute coord sets of crop tops and shorts have conservative counterparts ldquoOne of our bestsellers is coord sets with appropriately long and loose tops and roomy but structured pantsrdquo says Aamir adding ldquoThey can be accessorised for both formal and casual looksrdquo His father Asif is also part of the business and the design direction comes from SarahSarah ChhabdiaThe surge in business bears testimony to the expanding bashful fashion sector in India ldquoWe have grown 25 fold since 2019rdquo beams Aamir ldquoIn terms of traffic one lakh people visit our website in a month And that kind of fashion is not just limited to Muslim women there is a universal newfound interest in loosefitting clothing among nonMuslim buyers toordquo Think of the uber nonchalant antifit or sports casual stream In their manufacturing unit in Bandra East 12 to 15 people work on design procurement of raw material manufacturing and delivery of final products to clients based across the country and abroadFashion blogger Afia took to the hijabi lifestyle a year ago ldquoEver sincerdquo says the Bengaluru resident ldquoI have been on the hunt for chic clothing that breaks the stereotype about Muslim womenmdashthat we dress in shabby burqas and abayas We can be fancy too while sticking to the religious edictrdquoShirtextenders in staple black and white by Little Black Hijab LBH lengthen a comparatively shorter top to cover the legs LBHrsquos hijabs have easy access to the ears for wearing masks putting on headphones or stethoscopes without untying the head scarves Pics CourtesyLittle Black HijabWhile it was hard for the first few months the 25yearold now shops at various brandsmdashsome started by Muslim women and even at popular high street brands such as ZARA and HampM as they stock baggy fits ldquoI used to layer up with sleeve extenders multiple shirts and Tshirts for appropriate coveragerdquo says the motheroftwo ldquobut after the boom for such clothing in such brands I give styling inspiration to other women on Instagram too so they can dress up as per their beliefsrdquoAnah Ashraf Shaikh also started her own brand Anah out of necessity ldquoIt was a task to scour online and offline for modest optionsrdquo says the beauty and lifestyle blogger ldquoSo I would layer different lengths of clothes and post pictures online People would ask me where I bought the items from and confessed that shopping was a task for them toordquo Her brand sells everything under one roof Luxe abayas dresses and hijabs Being an online influencer helped Anah carve a space more easilyMisbah Pathan social media manager Little Black HijabIn 2021 she launched the Anah website officially ldquoIt crashed twice soon after the launchrdquo says the Thane resident ldquobecause of the deluge of buyersmdashthere were more than 10000 people at a time In the last oneandahalf years there hasnrsquot been a day with zero salesrdquo Her customers are placed world overmdashLondon Kuwait Qatar and Saudi Arabia The brandrsquos popularity can be gauged from the fact that it has 262 lakh followers on InstagramAnahrsquos hotsellers are the baseball cap and beanie that have scarves attached ldquoI used to wear a cap with a scarf underneathrdquo says Shaikh ldquoI would also style a bandana like that This was way back in 20182019 So when I started my brand I turned that into a singular productmdashbucket hats beanies and baseball caps with scarvesmdashwhich remain an all time favourite We also sell head scarves with ear openings for easy wear of headphonesrdquo Flared pants oversized sweatshirts and pullovers are also consistent sartorial choices says the bloggerentrepreneurBloggerentrepreneur Anah Ashraf Shaikhrsquos bucket hats beanies and baseball caps sewn with hijabs for an ultrasporty look are most loved Pic CourtesyAnahAnother trusted brand is the Little Black Hijab LBH Launched in 2016 by three founding membersmdashFarheen Fatima and Mehdi the brand now has 12odd employees and a majority of its customer base is in Maharashtra and Kerala ldquoIn 2021rdquo says Misbah Pathan LBHrsquos digital and social media manager ldquowe introduced shirt extenders to give tops a long shirtlike look These are available in the two staple coloursmdashblack and white and are always in demand among girls looking to pull their favourite hoodie into a prescribed lengthrdquo Their Insta page has 178 lakh followers Jostling for space on the top spot are instant hijabs ldquoWe were the first ones to launch theserdquo says Pathan ldquoMade from breathable jersey fabric these can just be pulled over the head We also make hijabs that give easy access to headphones masks and stethoscopesrdquo LBH sends its designs and ideas to Chinabased suppliersFashion blogger Afia had been on a hunt for chic clothing fitting her modest fashion choices for over a year The buckethat hijab from Little Black Hijab is one of her favourites Pic CourtesyAfiaBut great opportunities often face great roadblocks ldquoAdvertising became a problem because of restrictions placed by religious policiesrdquo says Pathan ldquoWe are not able to fully optimise Google ads because our products have hijab in the title imagery and keywordsrdquo