São Paulo – Sneakers are becoming increasingly popular among women in the Middle East – a demographic that stereotypically splurges on fancy clothing with ornate embellishments, paired with more “ladylike” shoes. While glamour has traditionally been the driving force behind fashion in the region, comfort is now heavily influencing style movements, particularly modest fashion and sneaker culture, Arab News reported.
Photographer and sneaker collector Tamila Kochkarova (pictured above), who lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, put “formal + strictly sneakers” as the dress code on her wedding invitation last year. She wore a completely white pair of Nike Air Max 98. “My number one priority on my wedding day was my comfort,” she told Arab News. Kochkarova says that got into sneaker culture when she was 12 or 13 and started hanging out with her skateboarder friends in Dubai parks.
Today, skaters are not the only ones buying sneakers, though. Sneakers have gained ground as a comfort option thanks to influencers on social media, and several them dress in skin-covering attire, too. Instagram is now abuzz with modest fashion bloggers, who previously wore elegant gowns and flowy dresses and skirts, sling-back heels, strappy stilettos and, occasionally, ballerina flats. But there is a new fashion wave in the region – sneakerhead hijabis.
“I think modest fashion and sneaker culture go hand in hand, because, as a whole, modest fashion is a push against the societal standard,” influencer Su’aad Hassan, who was born and raised in Dubai and now lives in Canada, told Arab News. She has over 18,000 followers on Instagram. Her social media features a range of sporty footwear, including bold and rare sneakers.
Modesty is dominating runways right now, and sneakers are also in vogue, being produced by brands like Gucci, Balenciaga and Christian Dior. Hassan says that observing the hijab dressing is not the cultural norm everyone thinks it is in the Middle East. She believes that being able to dress as you wish over meeting anyone’s expectations requires a level of comfort with your identity, and this ties into general comfort in clothing. “Sneakers make this so easy,” she says.
Athleisure and sports-luxe trends in mainstream fashion have helped popularize streetwear and sporty shoes in the region. Today, women in the region are pairing sneakers with their abayas, floaty maxi dresses and stylish tracksuits. We see an eclectic mix of sartorial standards, with room for an array of personal styles. Kochkarova is working on launching a website — noboysallowed.ae — dedicated to female sneakerheads from the Arab world. She will highlight muses living in the Middle East, or from the Middle East and living abroad, through creative photoshoots and insightful interviews.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
