East is a delicate and intriguing matter. And as over 1.5 billion people around the globe are celebrating the holiest month of Ramadan, I decided to devote this article to the beautiful and enigmatic dark birds - women of Islam. While being overwhelmed by all the controversy about Muslim world and the negative publicity about Islam followers, most of us, western people, are still pretty ignorant about Muslim culture, particularly the fashion. Moreover, we may think that such term is not even applicable in the regions of the world where women cover themselves from head to toe.
The aroma of East has been out on catwalks featured in couturier collections for a few seasons now, fascinating the designers at motives of the Middle East with its traditions, sophistication, and splendor. Marvelous fabrics like raw silk, rayon, brocade, velvet, chiffon and satin decorated with embroidery, beads, silver, gold and diamonds are widely used in exotic designers’ creations. And not only in collections of outstanding middle-eastern fashion stars like Lebanese designer Eli Saab, Egyptian Hani El-Beheiri or Turkish Atil Kutoglu, but also in Western haute couture shows. Eastern sumptuousness, mixed with restraint of the West, burst into incredible combinations of Puritanism and sexuality. Crocheted bras and belts, harem pants, bright oriental robes, shimmering satin skirts trimmed with sequin, embroidered or braid trimmed caftans with raglan sleeves, beaded scarves, coined arm bands, anklets and necklaces can barely leave one indifferent.
Having a stereotype of Muslim women muffled in black garb, we don’t realize that they actually dress not less brightly and fashionably than their western counterparts. If traveled to Egypt or Uzbekistan, you would be amazed by the variety and richness of hues as a distinctive feature of eastern apparel. “People have this misconception that if you’re covered up you can’t be fashionable or beautiful,’’ says Melor Wati Darus, who has been designing fashionable clothing for the muslimah (Arabic for Muslim women) for over 10 years. Islamic religion by no means forbids a woman to be beautiful. Stylish clothes and rich jewelry are considered an imprescriptible part of female essence. From westernized Bosnia to conservative Muslim Iran, local fashionistas search the ways to combine their religious principles with the modern style expressing their individuality.
Most Islamic women don’t wear a full face veil today. It is more common to see them in hijab, loose clothing topped by a type of scarf worn around the head and under the chin. Excerpts from one historical source “Women in the Muslim World” read that “women don’t share a common style nor have the same reasons for wearing hijab. For many it reflects the belief that they are following God’s commandments, are dressing according to ’the correct standard of modesty’, or simply are wearing the type of traditional clothes they feel comfortable in”. Historically, the veil itself predated Islam by many centuries. “In the Near East, Assyrian kings first introduced both the seclusion of women in the royal harem and the veil... Beyond the Near East, the practice of hiding one’s face and largely living in seclusion appeared in classical Greece, in the Byzantine Christian world, in Persia, and in India among upper caste Rajput women. Muslims in their first century at first were relaxed about female dress... As Islam reached other lands, regional practices, including the covering of women, were adopted by the early Muslims. Yet it was only in the second Islamic century that the veil became common, first used among the powerful and rich as a status symbol...The veil did not appear as a common rule to be followed until around the tenth century.”
Despite all criticism, Muslim women believe that hijab protects a woman’s attractive qualities. One says, “I am beautiful, and that is why I want to expose myself”. “I am beautiful, and that is why I do NOT want to expose myself”, says the other. In many Muslim women’s opinion, Islamic fashion tries to embellish a woman with respect, but European fashion aims to make a woman stimulating and exciting for a man. The ideology of Islam advocates that clothes should not show off a woman’s body, disparaging her to the level of just an object of man’s sexual desire. One woman said, referring to Western feminists: “They cry about equality and respect but then push for things that dehumanize women and put them at the mercy of merciless men. They’ll say women should be respected for their minds rather than for their bodies, but then they’ll say that women should go around in mini-skirts and g-strings.” But fortifying a woman’s dignity this way doesn’t mean that Islamic religion encourages women to dress dowdy, sloppy or out of fashion.
One Turkish young lady living in Germany said, “If all Muslim women here would wear only black veils and scarves, I think it would only harm Islam as religion. Religion is not supposed to antagonize. I think it’s easier for women, especially young women and girls, to be good Muslims if they have an opportunity to dress nicely.”
According to the words of one Muslim fashion designer, women “shouldn’t feel deprived of good clothing just because they choose an Islamic lifestyle”. No one said that the choice of material for women’s “covers” must diverge from the rules of elegance, good taste and even fashion trends. Turkish apparel company
“Tekbir”, specializing in veiled dressing, interweaves the most fashionable colors, lines, designs and fabrics with a 250-million-euro turnover annually.
Hijab remains the central accessory in the wardrobe of Muslim women, especially those living in Europe.
32-year-old English Stella White, who chose to wear hijab, shared: “I relish the privacy; the barrier that the hijab creates between myself and the harsh, frenetic world, especially in London. I find a great peace behind the veil: I don’t feel invaded by nosy passers-by; the traffic, noise and crowds seem less overwhelming. I can retreat into my own safe world even as I walk and, on a practical level, I feel completely secure from unwanted advances.” She also added that “a woman in a hijab can retain her identity without being a slave to finicky Western notions of beauty.” In her article, White wrote the words she heard from one Muslim man: "My wife is like a beautiful diamond. Would you leave a precious diamond to get scratched or stolen in the street? No, you would wrap it in velvet. And that is how the hijab protects my wife, who is more precious to me than any jewel."
But velvet is not the only material that protects Muslim women. The selection of hijabs is huge and diverse: floral, embroidery, silk, cotton, georgette, chiffon, polyester, long, square, and the list just keeps going on. The key for looking hip is to know how to mix and match all the pieces of apparel properly. As said the designer Melor Wati Darus: “You can have the most beautiful headscarf in the world but, if you don’t know how to match it with your overall clothing than you’re not going to stand out.”
This year’s fashion, according to the young Turkish girl, mentioned before in the article, is soft, pastel colors and large floral patterns. And not blurred batik, like the last years, but outlined expressive prints. Scarves with chain-anchor patterns a-la Gianni Versace are completely out of fashion these days.
As hijab is worn over the shoulders, the best overcoat collar is stand-up style rather that turn-down. Though long coats are most wide-spread, young women tend to prefer short coats and jackets of rich colors. The combination of wide pants, bright coat and a stylish head-scarf is favored by many young fashion-loving Muslim females.
“We dress women rather than undress them,” say couturier and fashion designers of Islamic world. Showing or concealing - what exactly makes a woman a sexually desired object? Women of East are enigmatic creatures, undiscovered like the Egyptian manuscripts. Will we ever break the invisible wall dividing our two worlds? And if we do, would they shed their traditional garments, or rather we will have to wrap in dark silk to become more mysterious, feminine and…sexual?