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The hijabista and modest fashion
Prof. Park Hye-won Department of Clothing & Textiles, Changwon University

Fashion is an accessible and accurate barometer of social change due to its nature as something that is worn and enjoyed in the era in which we live (and this very moment!). Until recently, Muslim women’s clothing was far removed from mainstream fashion because of Islam’s unique cultural and religious traits. The hijab, which is used by Muslim women to cover the head, hair, neck, and breasts, is an age-old item of religious attire that is rooted in the Quran. Today, the Southeast Asian Muslim community, mostly in Indonesia, is being taken by storm by the “hijabista,” a term that refers to women who wear a hijab and are very fashionable and trend-setting. The ways in which hijabistas wear and accessorize their hijabs is shared in real-time with consumers via social media, resulting in a significant impact on the fashion of Muslim women throughout Southeast Asia.

Another Islam-fueled trend is “modest fashion,” which refers to fashion that is based on traditional Muslim clothing and is aesthetically pleasing while abiding by the Quran’s directions on modesty. Modest fashion, which aims to minimize bodily exposure and avoid excessive form-fitting, is quickly gaining popularity alongside the hijabista. Perhaps the most important aspect of today’s modest fashion is that it offers a new sociocultural context for fashion for Southeast Asian Muslim women living in the current age. For middle-class, urban-dwelling Muslim women, the hijab expresses two things: firstly, their high social and economic standing, and secondly, aesthetic diversity. For young Muslim women, who regard the hijab as a fashion item, the balance between religion and fashion translates into a satisfying quality of life.

Over centuries, the meaning embodied by the hijab has changed significantly. Today, Muslim women in Southeast Asia accept Quran-abiding clothing as a fashion trend, using it to express themselves in creative ways amid the crisscrossing waves of tradition, the modern, and Westernization.