PDT Assignment

COUTURE HIJAB
FASHION MAKES
AN IMPRESSION AT
TOKYO FASHION WEEK
Among the aspiring Asian designers competing
for the limelight at Tokyo Fashion Week, one
of the most striking was an Indonesian label’s
bid to blend a traditional Muslim headscarf
with haute couture.
The twice-yearly show, which wraps up
today, saw NurZahra roll out its autumn/
winter collection “Layers of Fidelity”, turning
the modest hijab into sophisticated fashion.
The label — whose name means “the
luminous light” in Arabic and takes from
Fatimah Zahra, the daughter of Prophet
Mohammed — wanted to prove that the
female hair-and-neck-covering wrap, common
in the Islamic world, could still take on playful
elements.
“The modest hijab is not actually a
restriction” in fashion, designer Windri
Widiesta Dhari told reporters after her stylish
designs hit the catwalk.
“It’s how you cover yourself and look more
elegant in a way that has a loose fit.”
The wearing of the Islamic veil, limited
historically to conservative Gulf monarchies,
gained ground, including in sports, since the
1979 Iranian revolution and the creation of an
Islamic republic.
Use of the veil spread quickly as Islamist
movements grew in the wake of the Arab
Spring uprisings.
France has outraged many Muslims with a
law against full face-covering veils, while the
use of the hijab in sport, including football, has
sometimes stirred cultural clashes.
But Dhari sees the traditional scarf as not
just a modesty covering, but also a stylish,
comfortable accessory.
“We want to inspire people to think that
wearing hijab is not something difficult, and
could be worn by anyone,” she said.
Her collection also bucks a contemporary
design trend for simplicity and minimalism.
Blending cotton or silk into her hijab,
she includes natural dye prints that rely on a
traditional Japanese tie-dye technique called
shibori and the Indonesian batik method.
With patterns ranging from mini
mandalas to Turkish geometrics, Dhari plays
with multiple layers of fabric to freely shape
her silhouettes.
Another eye-catching element of the
collection was a hat that spreads wide in the
back, a throwback to the sixties with elements
resembling a long-ago royal head piece.
“The concept of the hat was actually
inspired by the style in one from 1963,” Dhari
said. “I was looking for vintage hats that could
be used to cover your hair and also your neck.
“I used that inspiration and then mixed it
with a traditional ethnic concept, so it becomes
something very unique.”
Tokyo has long been the centre of cool,
renowned the world over for its far-out
fashions that see young women donning
gothic-inspired “Lolita” outfits and chiselled
young men with highly coiffed haircuts.
But at the latest Tokyo Fashion Week, it was
newcomer brands from several Asian fashion
houses outside Japan, such as NurZahra,
which breathed fresh air into the show in the
Japanese capital.
Another Indonesian brand, Major Minor,
hit the runway for the first time, showcasing
styles incorporating mainly monochrome
tones and simple silhouettes.
The opener of the event was Thai brand
Sretsis — “sisters” in reverse — led by designer
Pim Sukhahuta, who works alongside two
female siblings.
Among their offerings was a cartoon-like
print -- girls’ faces dotting the fabric -- that
meshed touches of American high-school and
Japan’s “Lolita” themes.
credit: http://news.yahoo.com/hijab-design-takes-centre-stage-tokyo-fashion-week-033327186.html
9