08 January,2023 07:59 AM IST | Mumbai | Yusra Husain
A model wears the instant jersey hijab from Mumbai-based brand Little Black Hijab which gives easy access to use earphones, masks and stethescopes without fiddling with the headscarf
Sarah started donning a headscarf sometime around 2017, when she got engaged to Aamir Chhabdia. On the lookout for clothes that would complement her hijabi choice of lifestyle, Sarah would make several visits to ZARA and H&M, but return mostly disappointed or strike a compromise with clothes that fit the bill of modesty.
It is often said that necessity is the mother of invention, and it is not far from the truth for the Chhabdias who got married in December 2018. Their dire need for modest women's clothing led to the creation of a business that brings in their bread and butter⦠and a steady stream of oversized sweatshirts and co-ord sets for
the missus.
The overarching term of modest fashion is adhering to the Islam-prescribed sensibility of covering one's limbs and head, and wearing clothes that are loose fitting. Sounds restrictive? Only to the unimaginative.
The stylish Muslim woman wears flowing maxis and over-shirts with baseball caps and beanies attached to scarves in the colours of the rainbow, and its infinite variations. She lengthens cute crop-tops to cover the hips and short-sleeves to cover arms with clever and customised extenders.
"We would check out a number of brands, but Sarah couldn't find much," says Aamir, about how their brand was conceived. "We realised there weren't many options in India for modest fashion staples where you could dress to your liking without compromising on trends. So we built Modest Essentials in 2018, and for the first six months, it sold only hijabs. It got a good response in the first year itself, just via Instagram. So we expanded into other pieces of clothing, built a website and formed a company in 2019." On Instagram, the brand has a following of 1.43 lakh.
Now cute co-ord sets of crop tops and shorts have conservative counterparts. "One of our bestsellers is co-ord sets with appropriately long and loose tops, and roomy but structured pants," says Aamir, adding. "They can be accessorised for both formal and casual looks." His father Asif is also part of the business, and the design direction comes from Sarah.
The surge in business bears testimony to the expanding bashful fashion sector in India. "We have grown 25 fold since 2019," beams Aamir. "In terms of traffic, one lakh people visit our website in a month. And that kind of fashion is not just limited to Muslim women; there is a universal newfound interest in loose-fitting clothing among non-Muslim buyers too." Think of the uber nonchalant anti-fit or sports casual stream. In their manufacturing unit in Bandra East, 12 to 15 people work on design, procurement of raw material, manufacturing and delivery of final products to clients based across the country and abroad.
Fashion blogger Afia took to the hijabi lifestyle a year ago. "Ever since," says the Bengaluru resident, "I have been on the hunt for chic clothing that breaks the stereotype about Muslim women - that we dress in shabby burqas and abayas. We can be fancy too, while sticking to the religious edict."
While it was hard for the first few months, the 25-year-old now shops at various brands - some started by Muslim women and even at popular high street brands such as ZARA and H&M as they stock baggy fits. "I used to layer up with sleeve extenders, multiple shirts and T-shirts for appropriate coverage," says the mother-of-two, "but after the boom [for such clothing] in such brands, I give styling inspiration to other women on Instagram too, so they can dress up as per their beliefs."
Anah Ashraf Shaikh also started her own brand, Anah, out of necessity. "It was a task to scour online and offline for modest options," says the beauty and lifestyle blogger, "So I would layer different lengths of clothes and post pictures online. People would ask me where I bought the items from, and confessed that shopping was a task for them too." Her brand sells everything under one roof: Luxe abayas, dresses, and hijabs. Being an online influencer helped Anah carve a space more easily.
In 2021, she launched the Anah website officially. "It crashed twice soon after the launch," says the Thane resident, "because of the deluge of buyers - there were more than 10,000 people at a time. In the last one-and-a-half years, there hasn't been a day with zero sales." Her customers are placed world over - London, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The brand's popularity can be gauged from the fact that it has 2.62 lakh followers on Instagram.
Anah's hot-sellers are the baseball cap and beanie that have scarves attached. "I used to wear a cap with a scarf underneath," says Shaikh, "I would also style a bandana like that. This was way back in 2018-2019. So when I started my brand, I turned that into a singular product - bucket hats, beanies and baseball caps with scarves - which remain an all time favourite. We also sell head scarves with ear openings for easy wear of headphones." Flared pants, oversized sweatshirts and pullovers are also consistent sartorial choices, says the blogger-entrepreneur.
Another trusted brand is the Little Black Hijab (LBH). Launched in 2016 by three founding members - Farheen, Fatima and Mehdi, the brand now has 12-odd employees and a majority of its customer base is in Maharashtra and Kerala. "In 2021," says Misbah Pathan, LBH's digital and social media manager, "we introduced shirt extenders to give tops a long shirt-like look. These are available in the two staple colours - black and white, and are always in demand among girls looking to pull their favourite hoodie into a prescribed length." Their Insta page has 1.78 lakh followers.
Jostling for space on the top spot are instant hijabs. "We were the first ones to launch these," says Pathan. "Made from breathable jersey fabric, these can just be pulled over the head. We also make hijabs that give easy access to headphones, masks and stethoscopes." LBH sends its designs and ideas to China-based suppliers.
But great opportunities often face great roadblocks. "Advertising became a problem because of restrictions placed by religious policies," says Pathan. "We are not able to fully optimise Google ads because our products have hijab in the title, imagery and keywords."
