PHOTOGRAPHY BY LANGSTON HUES/MODESTSTREETFASHION.COM

For some women, an It bag is their must-have accessory. For some observant Muslim women, the hijab is the ultimate statement maker. Not only an important part of their religious beliefs, the traditional headscarf has caught up with fashion’s latest trends, breaking its way into the mainstream with the help of social media.

If the first Instagram stars were street stylers, the latest are “hijabistas,” who use the app (in addition to others) as an outlet to show off their style, find fashion inspiration, and meet their peers around the world. Social media has become a powerful tool allowing hijabistas to show young Muslim girls that they can still be fashionable while adhering to their faith. It’s also been a key factor in showing the Western world that hey, Muslim girls like being trendy too.

U.S.-based photographer Langston Hues has profiled those with some definite hijab swagger on his blog Modest Street Fashion. Currently shooting some of the most popular hijabi bloggers for his upcoming book of the same name, he’s found that sense of style exists, regardless of the parameters.

Bloggers like the ones Hues shoots are seen as influencers, and brands are beginning to see the potential of working with them to reach a larger, and for the most part untargeted, audience of Muslim women. In turn, businesses catering to Muslim women are on the rise and using social media to do so. Look at Hijab-ista, an one stop shop for all things hijab and other wardrobe essentials.

Here, we introduce you to some of favourite hijabistas helping change the face of the modern Muslim woman:

Ascia Al-Faraj, Kuwait

If you’re looking for hijabistas making a splash in the wider fashion realm there’s Al-Faraj, a popular fashion blogger from Kuwait. She is a widely-recognized style star who is constantly being invited to exclusive viewings (such as the Isabel Marant pour H&M collection) and New York Fashion Week. Her turban-tying talent also landed her an impressive gig with Halston Heritage.

Yasmine Kanar, United States

“Yaz the Spaz” hit the YouTube scene in 2010 with her hijab-styling tutorials. Her YouTube videos have taken her from a mere vlogger to a big time social media personality with an online shop of her own and almost 50,000 followers on Instagram.

Dina Tokio, United Kingdom

The fashionable Dina Tokio is a hilarious YouTube personality that shows other hijabis how to drape their hijabs. She is also a fashion designer and owns an online shop, Lazydoll. She currently has over 59,000YouTube subscribers and some of her videos have almost 70,000 views. She also has 131,000 followers on Instagram.

Saman Munir, Canada

Closer to home we have the beautiful Saman Munir from Mississauga. She gained fame through her makeup and hijab tutorials on YouTube and now almost 200,000 likes on Facebook. She’s become somewhat of a local celebrity and partakes in several projects in the city.

Source: fashionmagazine.com

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The defining element in the wardrobes of women in the Western world is the skirt. For evidence, you need look no further than the icons on restroom doors, where the silhouette of a simple A-line distinguishes between ladies and gents.

At its most ladylike, a skirt is but the below-the-waist part of a dress, and dresses in the 21st century have enjoyed a prominence unseen since the 1950s. After that decade, they fell from favour. For women who came of age in the 1960s, the dress was too dressy, too much a symbol of suburban Mom-ism. Trousers were the liberated way to go.

In recent years, the frock has made a remarkable return under the widespread influence of Alber Elbaz, who, since taking over as designer at Lanvin in 2001, has demonstrated to millennials that feminine drapery can be every bit as modern and easy as tailored pieces which know no flow.

By now, however, flow has turned to flood, and it seems time for a break from the masses of hair, the heaps of costume jewellery, the explosion of colour, the torrent of prints and the piles of preposterous footwear that were unleashed by the delirious rediscovery of the dress.

Poring over the collections for Fall 2013, you might itch for newness, freshness and simplicity, a longing satisfied by a new appreciation for the skirt, separated from the dress and celebrated as a garment with its own worth.

Paired with a matching jacket, the skirt has re-asserted its power as a component of the suit. This, of course, is not news. Coco Chanel made a signature of jacket and skirt suits constructed from soft tweeds. In her 1994 book Sex and Suits, costume and art historian Anne Hollander hailed Mademoiselle’ s achievement: “These suits suggested the kind of erotic self-possession that has no aggression in it, but rather an element of constant, low-keyed personal bodily delight a costume expressing a purely female sexual independence in the modern world.”

That is to say nothing of the joy of a suit consisting of jacket and trousers—the simple excellence of which became an option for women in the 1960s. Since then, it’s become such a staple that to speak of the new suits of the season it’s necessary to say “skirt suit,” a slow-witted, clunky phrase that doesn’t do justice to the vim and variety of the ensembles that were seen on fall runways.

Effects ranged from urbane to rustic. Vivienne Westwood combined a short, sharp-shouldered jacket with a knee-grazing, peg-topped skirt and a surplice-style blouse in a way that could have been homage to Saint Laurent in the 1980s. Dolce & Gabbana offered suits in countrified tweeds.

In his signature range, Marc Jacobs proposed a suit that was black and severe; at Louis Vuitton he sent out a white suit patterned with pink florets. At Chanel, suits, far from seeming matronly, were girlish affairs featuring short, pleated skirts.

But echoes of Coco go beyond chic combos of skirts and jackets for fall. The season’s other important pairing is of skirts and sweaters (according to Hollander, Chanel was the first to use sweaters “for feminine fashion, not female golf clothes”). Karl Lagerfeld stayed true to that tradition, pairing a pullover in navy with a vividly coloured, below-the-knee skirt that managed to be modestly understated and unassailably confident all at once.

At Jil Sander, there was another dark pullover, this one worn with a below-the-knee skirt in grey. The outfit was both stern and aesthetically provocative—not a bad payoff for a couple of easy pieces.

Often, the pullovers presented in fall collections were bulky, sometimes as indifferent to shape as a sweatshirt. Other times they hugged the body, like at Burberry Prorsum, where a pullover belted inside a leopard-spotted pencil skirt plied a vixenish vibe recalling old-time Hollywood. At Prada, a plunging, off-the-shoulder V-neck tucked inside a long, full, red skirt looked as if it had stepped off the cover of a 1950s paperback.

It’s difficult for long, full skirts to lose their retro associations, so strongly linked are they to the sock hop and the barn dance. However, in most cases the sweater-and-skirt combos of Fall 2013 appear timeless. They carry no particular period references and have no particular story to tell. Quiet, uncomplicated, appealing, they are nothing without you. 

—By David Livingstone, From the September 2013 print edition

Source: fashionmagazine.com

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When it comes to Fall 2013 accessories, less is definitely not more. Decadence weaved its way into handbags, jewellery, footwear and more for the upcoming season.

Fall 2013 accessories are big, over the top and statement making, literally, with words adorning clutches at Acne and necklaces at Lanvin. Equally as attention-grabbing in the jewellery department were crosses, with A-list designers such as Alberta Ferreti giving the religious symbol a high-fashion makeover. Dolce & Gabbana added embellished gold cross earrings and equally extravagant gold cross necklaces to their captivating ensembles.

Gone were the open-toed gladiator heels of last season. For Fall 2013 we have the oxford trend to look forward to with several designers adding clunky heels to the traditional menswear staple. Models at Bottega Veneta strutted down the runway in a dusty pink version of the style while Moschino Cheap and Chic showed off a black and white tuxedo-esque take on the shoe.

New shapes and textures were added to runway accessories for the ultimate head-turning effect. Fur found its way onto handbags at Fendi and Louis Vuitton and onto boots at Marni- offering a modern take on the timeless, luxurious style. Also leaving its mark in the handbag department was the quirky novelty bag. Chanel’s pint-sized globe purse and Carven’s endearing fish bag added the perfect amount of cheeky charm to over the top ensembles.

Source: fashionmagazine.com

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From silky robes to lace-edged negligees, pyjama dressing gets the glam treatment this fall. Fur stoles, spaghetti straps and ladylike silhouettes on the Fall 2013 runways show us how to take our favourite boudoir basics out on the town.

With sultry pyjama-like frocks at on the runway at Chloe Comme Parris and Louis Vuitton it’s clear that the daytime nightie is key for fall. The fabulous yet basic gowns suggest minimal lines for eveningwear in the upcoming season. Nina Ricci presented a selection of lingerie trend worthy dresses in shades of red and cream. A corseted, skin-bearing gown won our hearts, showing us how to appropriate the structured bustier look for day-wear. Rochas took the boudoir trend literally, presenting multiple silk pyjama-like suits that looked equally high on the comfort scale as it did on our fashion radar.

Elements of the lingerie dress were fused with typical daytime styles at Giles where thin silks were used for floor-sweeping gowns in feminine shades of pink and gold. Jeremy Laing added neon to the mix with soft black and white printed silks incorporating unexpected pops of bright yellow for a playful take on the lingerie trend.

Glamorous feathers took centre stage at Dries Van Noten where brilliantly coloured knee-length dressed looked as though they’d been painted with sumptuous ostrich plumes. Erdem combined similar plumes with layers of lace and black chiffon on his Fall 2013 collection, adding lingerie accents to feminine designs. Fur, the ultimate boudoir trend must-have, was as popular as feathers, with scarfs and stoles added to slinky, lingerie trend inspired dresses. Fur-lined coats turned heads at Louis Vuitton, where tousled bobs and pastel palettes completed the effortlessly sexy look. Fur stoles covered slinky, metallic gowns at Marc Jacobs presenting a lingerie trend inspired take on eveningwear for fall. Marni also played with fur for fall, tossing lavish oversized stoles over simple black strapless designs, allowing them to steal the spotlight.

Source: fashionmagazine.com

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