Ankle-length dresses and trousers, layered silhouettes, headscarves with graphic prints, veil kinis: the first edition of Amsterdam Modest Fashion Week was organized in the Netherlands on 13, 14 and 15 December. The event took place under the glass roof of Passenger Terminal Amsterdam.
Ankle-length dresses and trousers, layered silhouettes, headscarves with graphic prints, veil kinis: the first edition of Amsterdam Modest Fashion Week was organized in the Netherlands on 13, 14 and 15 December.
The event took place under the glass roof of the Passenger Terminal in Amsterdam. Where groups of cruise passengers usually made their way to the quay, a wide catwalk was rolled out. There were also workshops, lectures, stands and an exhibition. Designers and artists from all over the world took part in the weekend: from Denmark to Malaysia and Russia to Great Britain.
Amsterdam Modest Fashion Week was organized by Franka Soeria and Özlem Şahin, two young female entrepreneurs who set up the Think Fashion platform together. They organized Modest Fashion Weeks in Istanbul, London, Dubai and Jakarta – and brought them to Amsterdam this weekend. “This city represents a new form of coolness and new hope. It is a diverse, multicultural and tolerant place, “explained Soeria in the press release announcing Amsterdam Modest Fashion Week. “On the other hand, Amsterdam also has a huge consumer target group for modest fashion.”
For the event, Soeria and Sahin worked together with one of
the largest Dutch fashion fashion retailers, Clash of Brands, formerly known as
retail duo Hazanah and Nesci. Under the joint name HazanahxNesci, from 2015 the
retailers repeatedly opened modest fashion pop-up stores in The Hague. Nesci
founder of Enaam Ahmed Ali was initially looking for modern fashion clothing
from a religious point of view. But, Ahmed told NOS on Saturday in an
interview: “We soon discovered that non-believers were also interested in
modest fashion. That need was universal.”
This weekend, various designers and artists shared their vision of fashion fashion with a Dutch audience. Among them were the Dutch Studio Maqam, the Jordanian Veilkini, the German Hijabi, the Malaysian Ummiriaz, the Indonesian Jawhara Syari, the Turkish Trapezzi – and many others.
“Modest” literally translates to “modest.” Indeed, much of the clothing during this fashion weekend is covering, with long sleeves, high-necked necks and a loose fit. But “modest” does not necessarily mean restraint: modest fashion can also be progressive in a fashion world where tight and revealing dominate the streets – think skinny jeans, denim shorts and spaghetti straps – and longer, wider clothing is harder to find. According to Rajae el Mouhandiz, for example, the artist and theater maker behind the ‘Modest Fashion’ exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, the core of modest fashion is not a conservative call for more coverage, but rather a celebration of the freedom to choose for yourself covered or uncovered.
Source: Fashion United – Nora Veerman