"Frustrated by this lack of variety, a small number of devout young Muslims are making their own way into the fashion industry to try and provide a middle road – sleek, elegant clothing that is both beautiful and Islamic.
The seeds of this particular sartorial movement have only just begun to be sown and the number of Hijabistas in Britain can probably be counted on one hand. But their arrival heralds a shift reflected in the wider Muslim demographic of a community making their way towards the mainstream and forging their own indigenous identity.
“Islam has a really amazing definition of beauty,” she says. “Hijab is about how a woman can be beautiful without placing overt emphasis on her sexuality. In western society it’s quite difficult to separate the two. I design clothes that are beautiful in the way that women find each other beautiful.”
“Despite what some people may claim Islam is not a religion that tramples over culture,” she says. “In China, mosques reflect the indigenous culture. In India the clothes that we now think of as Islamic were originally taken from the Hindu culture. It’s only natural that British Muslims will begin to make their own creative choices that fuse both their nationality and religion. It’s not about choosing one or the other.”
You can read the full article here.
Hana Tajima, founder of Maysaa, on a shoot in north London for her new collection (image source)
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