Post-postmodernity and South Asian Muslim women’s fashion (original) (raw)

Muslim Fashion-Book Review

ETHNIC AND RACIAL STUDIES, 2017

This is a needed manuscript that discusses and traces the rise and popularization of transnational Muslim women’s fashion from the 1980s to the present. It especially focuses on the beginning of the twenty-first century that witnessed the emergence of a subculture that normalizes Muslim women’s ways of dress, specifically the veil, as part of contemporary mainstream fashion. This fact refutes the stereotypical Orientalists’ binary assumptions of West versus East that places Muslim women’s fashion as anti-Western and pre-modern. Lewis argues that Muslim fashion is a complex concept that intertwines fashion systems within different levels of modernity; moreover, fashion’s mean- ings change depending on generation, class and temporal and spatial contexts. The book provides a vivid illustration of the ever-changing cultural landscape (virtual and physical – i.e. Internet, social media, Istanbul and London streets) where “shopping, fashion, and veils” are pitched together (3). The growth of this youth fashion subculture is an expression of identity negotiation in which a young generation of Muslims acquire more than one type of cultural capital (using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory) that enables their communication and “engage- ment with mainstream fashion” and with “coreligionists and to majority of non- Muslim observers alike” (3).

Book Review of \u3cem\u3eMuslim Fashion: Contemporary Style Cultures\u3c/em\u3e, by Reina Lewis

2017

This is a needed manuscript that discusses and traces the rise and popularization of transnational Muslim women's fashion from the 1980s to the present. It especially focuses on the beginning of the twenty-first century that witnessed the emergence of a subculture that normalizes Muslim women's ways of dress, specifically the veil, as part of contemporary mainstream fashion. This fact refutes the stereotypical Orientalists' binary assumptions of West versus East that places Muslim women's fashion as anti-Western and pre-modern. Lewis argues that Muslim fashion is a complex concept that intertwines multiple fashion systems within different levels of modernity; moreover, fashion's meanings change depending on generation, class and temporal and spatial contexts. The book provides a vivid illustration of the ever-changing cultural landscape (virtual and physical-i.e. Internet, social media, Istanbul and London streets) where "shopping, fashion, and veils" are pitched together (3). The growth

FASHION: MALAYSIAN MUSLIM WOMEN PERSPECTIVE

This paper introduces an in-depth discussion of the various interpretations of what fashion is, and the items considered as part and parcel of fashion. Generally fashion is seen as an object of beautification for women, yet it brings new meanings to their lives when it enhances self-confidence, facilitates the communication of their self-identity and self-esteem, besides depicting their culture or society. A discussion of the purposes of fashion items such as shoes, makeup/cosmetics, apparel and accessories is discussed. A section of the paper is devoted to a discussion of the Muslim scarves (hijab), as the focus of this paper is on the perception of what fashion means to Muslim women. This paper serves as a fruitful insight into the minds of the Muslim women consumers and provides impetus for the marketing of fashion-related items to serve this segment of the market. A conceptual framework developed for this study would be the initial attempt at developing a more comprehensive study into the related moderating and mediating variables that has an effect on fashion. This study also suggests that future researchers may consider testing the proposed model empirically, not only in Malaysia but also in other countries. Lastly, a promising attempt would be to test for invariance among different countries on the same model.

Formats, Fabrics, and Fashions: Muslim Headscarves Revisited

Material Religion:popularizing islam: muslims and materiality, 2012

Changes in the sartorial practices of Dutch-Turkish women who wear Muslim headscarves may be summarized as a shift from sober, religiously inspired forms of dress towards colorful, more fashionable styles. A focus on the materiality of headscarves indicates, however, that the relation between Islam, dress, and fashion is more complex. The main motivation for the women to adopt headscarves, including the fashionable ones, is religious. They do so because they consider it a practice prescribed in the foundational Islamic texts and because presenting a pleasant, up-to-date look can be considered as a form of visual da'wa. At the same time, however, wearing particular styles of fashionable headscarves also performs other, non-religious, identities and forms of belonging, such as those pertaining to status, ethnicity, and professionalism. This is evident in how fabrics (such as silk) and shapes of headscarves (square or rectangular) matter. An investigation of headscarves as particular items of dress is, in turn, helpful to understand the limits of a focus on aesthetic styles and fashion. The headscarf format makes these items of dress easy to acquire and hard to discard, because they are often received as gifts. A woman's attachment to particular headscarves-materializing social relations and functioning as souvenirs-goes beyond aesthetic styles and mitigates the force of fashion.

Modesty and style in Islamic attire: Refashioning Muslim garments in a Western context

Contemporary Islam, 2011

My ethnographic fieldwork conducted with female converts to Islam in France and in Quebec (Canada) shows that, for these women, being Muslim does not necessarily mean wearing clothes with 'oriental' designs. Rather, they are starting their own clothing companies so as to produce distinct Muslim-Western fashions that they promote through the Internet. By interpreting Islam in a context where Muslims are a minority religious group, converts construct alternative religious and social representations of Muslim identity that accord with their feminist interpretation of the Qu'ran while simultaneously incorporating the Western background within which they were socialized. In this regard, the strategies that they develop for wearing the veil and for integrating into their environment (family, workplace, etc.) make it clear that fashion, religion and politics are interacting in multiple, creative ways. In this paper, I look at how new Muslim feminist subjectivities are produced and realized through habits of dress, resulting in new representations of the body. I explore this issue by considering dress and hairstyle strategies developed by Muslim converts, in order to examine new perspectives on the place of gender in religion as it relates to particular social contexts. Keywords Conversion. Islam. Gender. Fashion. Dress. Body. Identity 'In a very literal sense, clothing is a cover for a plurality of possible motives and intentions, and has no necessary or predictable connection with actual behaviour or beliefs, as commonly assumed a priori by non-Muslim outsiders.' (Nagata 1995: 107)

Mossière, G.; (2011). « Modesty and style in Islamic attire: Refashioning Muslim garments in a Western context », Contemporary Islam.

My ethnographic fieldwork conducted with female converts to Islam in France and in Quebec (Canada) shows that, for these women, being Muslim does not necessarily mean wearing clothes with ‘oriental’ designs. Rather, they are starting their own clothing companies so as to produce distinct Muslim-Western fashions that they promote through the Internet. By interpreting Islam in a context where Muslims are a minority religious group, converts construct alternative religious and social representations of Muslim identity that accord with their feminist interpretation of the Qu’ran while simultaneously incorporating the Western background within which they were socialized. In this regard, the strategies that they develop for wearing the veil and for integrating into their environment (family, workplace, etc.) make it clear that fashion, religion and politics are interacting in multiple, creative ways. In this paper, I look at how new Muslim feminist subjectivities are produced and realized through habits of dress, resulting in new representations of the body. I explore this issue by considering dress and hairstyle strategies developed by Muslim converts, in order to examine new perspectives on the place of gender in religion as it relates to particular social contexts.

Growing Popularity of Muslim Attire: Faith or Fashion?

2017

Muslim attire, also popularly known as ?Modest Clothing? is a particular dressing style for the women who adhere to Islamic faith. Traditionally, this attire has been practiced by women as part of obligation to their faith. Interestingly, last decade has seen increasing popularity of the Muslim attire in all age groups of women not only as part of their religion, but also as part of their fashion statement. The prime focus of this paper is to study consumers? opinion about Muslim attire and the underlying forces boosting its rise in the global market. This paper is both exploratory and descriptive in nature. Sample has been chosen from Bangladeshi women aged 13 to 65 who already dress in Muslim attire. The research conducted a primary in-depth interview on 10 women to gain perspective on the motivating factors behind growing attraction towards Muslim attire. The second phase of the research carried out a survey on 150 women with the help of a structured questionnaire on 14 variables...