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Rabat – France and Belgium may have angered many Muslims with the ban of the burkini and burka, but the Islamic fashion industry is alive and well on the global fashion scene.
India-based entrepreneurs Fahd and Abdullah Hameed, and Salika Khan recently launched a new e-commerce website called modestforever.com which exclusively features “fashion forward” Islamic wear.
“Modest Forever is all about fashion for women who believe in being unapologetically modest and are fiercely fashionable at the same time!” says the website.
“I have worked as the head of international business with Utsav Fashion for many years,” says Fahd in Deccan Herald.
“I noticed this new kind of fashion for Muslim women, which is fashionable and sticks to their values of modesty. Also, when it comes to covering one’s body entirely, wearing burqa was the only option for them. So, I thought of starting this venture in India, given the market opportunity in the Islamic wear space here,” says Fahd.
Not only is there a market in India for modest clothing, worn both my Muslim women and others, the market is massive worldwide.
Muslim consumers spend an estimated $230 billion on clothing, according to the 2015-2016 State of the Global Islamic Economy Report. The Islamic clothing market is projected to grow to 327 billion by 2019.
There is a visible increase in Muslims wearing traditional clothing worldwide, say marketing experts who explain the boom. They also point to more disposable income among Muslim women and demographics. The average age in the majority Muslim nations is 30 while in Europe and the U.S., the average age is about 44.
Shukr.com, launched in 2002, is one of the first Islamic fashion e-commerce sites to cater to the modest tastes of Muslims in Europe.
These businesses have done well in providing at-home shopping services to Muslims throughout the world. They offer consumers fashionable yet traditional clothing that is not easily found in most of today’s retail outlets.
Shukr.com tries to buy most of its products from Muslim-owned businesses but China is also producing Islamic fashion at lower prices.
The largest manufacturer of Muslim clothing is Turkey with its large industrial base and production of cotton.
Modanisa, is a Turkish-based e-commerce business founded in 2012 which has the benefit of less expensive locally-manufactured products at its disposal.
Kerim Ture, founder of Modanisa, said he sells Islamic fashion to 60 countries and offers more than 200 Islamic brands on their platform. His company recently received $5 million in venture capital from Saudia-based STC Ventures for expansion and market development.
