Global Fashion Market Sees Shift Towards Modest Style Trends

Paris Fashion Week Hosts Modest Fashion Event

A recent event at Paris Fashion Week showcased modest fashion, a growing trend in the global Muslim market. The event, organized by Think Fashion, featured models wearing embellished satin tailoring, corseted silhouettes, and full-coverage eveningwear.

The event included a denim maxi dress with cargo pockets paired with a matching cropped jacket, as well as a black crochet balaclava adorned with oversized crystals that covered the model’s head and most of her face. The balaclava was a take on the niqab, a symbol banned in France since 2010.

Think Fashion CEO Ozlem Sahin stated that bringing modest fashion to Paris was a natural step in positioning modesty within the global fashion dialogue. She noted that the industry has reached a level of maturity where it can be presented at prestigious venues.

According to DinarStandard’s State of the Global Islamic Economy report, Muslim spending on fashion is forecasted to reach $433bn by 2028. Luxury brands, department stores, and trend forecasters are increasingly recognizing modest fashion as one of the industry’s fastest-growing consumer markets.

In recent years, many fashion houses have launched Ramadan capsule collections aimed at shoppers in the Gulf. These collections were initially geographically limited but have since become more mainstream. Conservative silhouettes such as long hemlines, high necklines, and looser cuts have appeared on runways that previously relied on skin-revealing and form-fitting fashion.

The event also highlighted the influence of Muslim influencers and designers on social media, who built highly engaged global audiences before luxury fashion fully understood their commercial value. These influencers have been featured in fashion weeks in cities such as New York, London, and Milan, showcasing their curated looks and positioning themselves within the front rows of luxury culture.

The event provided a platform for smaller, homegrown, and start-up labels to showcase their designs. Junaynah El Guthmy, a Yemeni-Kenyan creative strategist and content creator, stated that these events create a sense of safety, belonging, and shared identity, which is essential for the growth of modest fashion.

Source: Al Jazeera