A fashion journalist unzips the revolution, influence, and controversy of the modest fashion movement - as seen in Vogue Arabia, Harper’s Bazaar, Stylist, Glamour, Publishers Weekly, Foreword Reviews, Booklist, and more.
Muslim-American fashion journalist Hafsa Lodi has witnessed first-hand how the modest fashion industry has evolved from a niche segment to a powerful force that boasts a multibillion-dollar market value on the world stage. Whether they're influenced by the feminist nuances of modesty, abide by religious dress norms, or keep up with the latest social media trends, modest fashion is profoundly popular.
Lodi unpacks how designer brands like Gucci have popularized conservative attire and layering as the pinnacle of chic, and high-street brands like H&M and Mango have followed. She strips back the modest fashion movement to expose its true disruptors: the faith-centric fashion labels. Bolstered by a burgeoning community of Muslim, Jewish and Christian fashion influencers, they're at the forefront of this global surge.
Speaking to both the fashion industry and its consumers, Lodi explores the nuances and narratives of this fascinating movement and asks the burning question: In a world where fashion becomes a spectacle and seeks constant attention, can it ever be truly modest?
Intriguing Look At Muslim Fashion and the Rise of Generation M Through That Lens. I grew up in a very conservative Christian region. The church I grew up in wasn't hyper strict on dress code (though it was still enforced that pants and closed toed shoes were required for males, which I chafed at every summer - this was outside of Atlanta, after all), but I new others that were very much in the vein that Lodi describes in brief flashes of this book where she looks at any form of Christianity at all, including the Mormon friend that she references in the introduction and conclusion.
But overall this book is hyper focused on modest fashion *as seen through the lens of Muslim females, particularly Millenial Muslim females*. Lodi does a seemingly good job of showing the last century or so of history of how we got to this moment in female Muslim fashion, from early efforts to liberalize and get away from the traditional coverings to the movements to go back under the abayas and burqas as a protest of such liberalization. She does a decent job of examining the various social arguments both for and against both covering and even making the covers more fashionable.
But what really sets the book apart is just how tied into Instagram in particular it is. Indeed, seemingly every single time Lodi first mentions a person, she also mentions their Instagram handle if they have one - and most everyone she mentions has one.
Arguably the most glaring weakness of the book - and it isn't actually big enough that I can bring myself to ding a single star, it is more of the difference between run of the mill and transcendental - *is* the hyper focus on Muslim fashion specifically. Yes, the other Abrahamic faiths are mentioned a few times, and even no faith at all is mentioned at times, but the lens is absolutely through the one particular viewpoint. The book very much could have benefited from maybe as little as two extra chapters - one on Christian modest fashion/ rationales and another on secular, "skin care" type modest fashion/ rationales.
But ultimately a strong book from within its perspective, and seemingly very complete and as up to date as a book can be. Very much recommended.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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28 April, 2020:
Finished reading
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28 April, 2020:
Reviewed