Designers hope modest fashion week idea goes global

London Modest Fashion Week (LMFW) at Saatchi Gallery, will host panel discussions on the rise of the Muslim entrepreneur and on building successful ­fashion brands.

Sara Al Madani, Creative Director, Rouge Couture. Photo Reem Mohammed / The National

As designers from the Middle East get ready to participate in the United Kingdom’s first modest fashion week, there is a hope that similar international events will soon become commonplace closer home.

For many designers from the region, fashion weeks are much more than simply events where they are able to showcase their work; they provide them with ­e­xposure and investment too.

London Modest Fashion Week (LMFW), which runs this Saturday and Sunday at Saatchi Gallery, will host panel discussions on the rise of the Muslim entrepreneur and on building successful ­fashion brands.

Pop-up stores will be set up alongside runway and solo shows, and designers will be given the opportunity to pitch to potential investors.

Organised by Haute Elan, an online modest fashion ­marketplace, LMFW will feature 50 designers from seven countries, including the UAE, Turkey, ­Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Art of Heritage, a label established in 1990 to preserve the crafts and textile of Saudi Arabia, will also hold a solo event over the weekend.

“We will be showcasing ­designs from our new Art of Heritage spring collection, including thobes and kaftans based on ­traditional designs from all over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” says the label’s general manager, Somaya Badr.

“We are looking forward to introducing the Art of Heritage collection to a new audience in London. The collection is a modern interpretation of traditional styles and beautifully-tailored thobes and kaftans.”

Two regional designers who will take part in this week's event spoke to The National and shared their thoughts on the ­opportunity.

Sara Al Madani Fashion Design

Emirati designer Sara Al Madani founded the brand Rouge ­Couture 15 years ago, while still a student.

“I wanted to position the Arab woman in the fashion industry with her own traditional clothes,” says Al Madani, who rebranded her label recently.

She has taken part in Dubai Fashion Week and shown in ­Paris, and is excited to be showcasing her new collection of abayas, ­which are designed to reflect and focus on the strength of women, at the ­London event.

“The modest-fashion industry is growing rapidly in the UK,” says Al Madani. “I have a lot of clients in the UK who shop online, so it’s about time I take my designs there.”

Al Madani experiments with cuts and fabrics in her abayas, though she admits she loves working with leather, too. She is passionate about keeping on top of global trends and applies them to the abaya “without changing the vision and mission of the abaya”.

She says she is happy an event like this exists. “We needed a platform where we can meet the right people and this is the right place and the right time,” she adds. “I want to introduce a new crowd to my designs and increase awareness about modest fashion.”

The designer, from Sharjah, believes modesty in fashion is not restricted to Arabs or Muslims. She has clients in Paris who are not Arab or Muslim, who choose to wear abayas as a cape or a kind of jacket.

Al Madani hopes international modest-fashion events will soon find a place on the Middle East fashion calendar. “It’s about having buyers and exposure to the right people at the right time. We definitely need something like this in the Gulf,” she says.

Foulard

While growing up in Saudi Arabia, Sara Rayess realised people were wearing abayas with plain scarves because fancier scarves and headgear were not available.

While still in school, she launched her label, Foulard, which focuses almost entirely on scarves and fashionable ­headbands.

The Syrian-German designer, who was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, designs the scarves, chooses the fabric, and arranges her label’s fashion shoots with her dedicated team.

Talking of LMFW, she ­highlights its importance to her brand: “This is important to us ... we haven’t showcased in ­European countries before.” The 23-year-old designer ­believes modest fashion has been given a boost recently thanks to fashion bloggers and social ­media influencers.

At LMFW this weekend, she will showcase her haute couture scarves, which have been created using lace and chiffon.

“For now, I want to expand my work with scarves because I think the market needs this,” she says. “Our goal was to make girls feel stylish while donning hijab. The trend becoming very popular right now is the turban-style.”