{"id":205084,"date":"2018-11-29T07:00:27","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T10:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=205084"},"modified":"2018-11-29T17:31:06","modified_gmt":"2018-11-29T19:31:06","slug":"theyre-the-ones-who-create-hijab-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/theyre-the-ones-who-create-hijab-fashion\/","title":{"rendered":"They\u2019re the ones who create hijab fashion"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Islamic women who live in Brazil don\u2019t wear tight-fitting denim pants, short-sleeved T shirts of above-the-knee skirts found in malls all over the country. Most of them dress in long cloaks (abayas), with scarves (hijabs) wrapped around their heads. These are hard items to find at conventional outlets, but they\u2019re being made by a group of designers whose primary promotion and sales front is the internet.<\/p>\n

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Items by iCovered get sold in a shared venue<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These Islamic fashion entrepreneurs in Brazil include Sheila Sotero, who designs and makes abayas, hijabs and tunics out of Betim, Minas Gerais, and Karla Silva, an Islamic scarf designer and seamstress in Taubat\u00e9, S\u00e3o Paulo. Also in S\u00e3o Paulo, partners Beatriz Kehdy and Alessandra Melo make clothes that are Islam-friendly, yet modern, conventional-like and appropriate for everyday wear. And major Brazilian brand Maison Alexandrine incorporated Islamic item sinto its collection \u2013 a rare thing on this market.<\/p>\n

Since brick-and-mortar stores in Brazil are short in number, Muslim women need to make do. Those who don\u2019t have a store nearby will buy online, or from acquaintances who bring product from Islamic countries \u2013 or else they will improvise. \u201cMuslim women will adapt their clothes. We\u2019ll buy short blouses and wear them with skirts, or buy mini-dresses and wear them like tunics with pants,\u201d says Soha Chabrawi, from the Halal Quality Guarantee Sector at Fambras Halal, the halal certifier division of the Federation of Muslim Associations in Brazil.<\/p>\n

But work is being done to change that. Beatriz, an architect, and Alessandra, a modelist, launched the iCovered brand a little over a year ago. They are both \u2018reverted\u2019 (which is how Muslims term conversion) and used to have a hard time finding discreet, yet modern clothing to wear. \u201cThe idea came up of working on something for Muslim women. Discreet, but modern clothes with style and charm,\u201d says Beatriz.<\/p>\n

iCovered doesn\u2019t carry abayas or burkas. The brand makes Muslim-friendly everyday items like skirts, loose-fitting pants, tunics, dresses and scarves. \u201cWe design with Brazilian Muslim women in mind, but our clothes are wearable by all demographics,\u201d says Beatriz. Both the architect and the modelist handle the designs. Most of the seaming is done by third-party workers. Beatriz explains that the brand values quality fabrics and finishes, and that the items are exclusive.<\/p>\n

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Karla Silva brand: a variety of fabrics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Embroidered hijab by Karla Silva<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Items by iCovered are sold at the Carol Martini collaborative space, on S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s Benedito Calixto Square. They\u2019re also available online, mostly on Instagram, WhatsApp and\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 which is where the bulk of sales happen, according to Beatriz. Product get shipped across Brazil, to places across the state of S\u00e3o Paulo and the city of Curitiba. \u201cThe market is growing bit by bit,\u201d she says. iCovered does not export yet, but plans are in place to do so.<\/p>\n

In Taubat\u00e9, Karla Silva is another Islam revert working on an Islamic fashion project. A Muslim since her teens, she started out by making her own scarves. \u201cThe ones that\u2019d come from Lebanon were too expensive.\u201d The daughter of a seamstress, she dropped out of a sewing course and then taught herself the trade. Karla began making hijabs to sell after fellow Muslims saw what she was wearing and placed orders.<\/p>\n

Karla will buy fabric for her hijabs in Brazil and abroad, wholesale and retail. Her focus is on getting unique items. Leopard prints, embroidery and lace are mainstays. She\u2019ll sell the items to Islamic community \u2013 mostly Brazilian reverts \u2013 and online, through WhatsApp, Mercado Livre and\u00a0Facebook<\/a>. Karla, who has gone on the Hajj (the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca), has plans of expanding her business. She also intends to find a brand name: her product is eponymous right now.<\/p>\n

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Sheila Sotero’s creations are color-heavy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sheila Sotero works out of her studio in Betim. She sells her items locally and online, but is considering opening a store in Belo Horizonte. Her Ssotero brand incorporates the latest fashion trends into Islamic attire, using the latest cry in fabrics and colors, as well as embroidery and add-ons to her abayas, tunics and hijabs. \u201cThey want clothes that are modern, while retaining the essence,\u201d explains Sheila, who takes care not to use transparencies or tight-fitting designs.<\/p>\n

Sheila is the daughter of a designer\/modelist. Even as a child she\u2019d copy her mother\u2019s work. Her mother would often put Sheila\u2019s ideas on paper to use them in her work. Sheila has won design contests, her work has been in parades, and she has close to 3,000 followers on social media. Even though she also makes regular clothing, she intends to lean heavily into Islamic fashion. She designs and makes her clothes with help from seamstresses.<\/p>\n

The maison of caftans<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the\u00a0Maison Alexandrine<\/a> shop, a villa in S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s high-end shopping district Jardim Paulista, abayas sit next to \u2018regular\u2019 clothing items. Brand owner and designer Alexandra Fructuoso explains that they\u2019re a small part of her business: sales of caftans (which is how she calls abayas) are usually two-a-month. \u201cBut we always carry a variety of styles \u2013 at least six different models \u2013 and, of course, we can adapt the color and flashiness to suit the client\u2019s tastes,\u201d says Alexandra.<\/p>\n

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A design by Maison Alexandrine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The new abaya collection from Maison is colorful, with texturized fabrics. They match the women\u2019s liberation going on in Islamic countries right now, according to Alexandra. \u201cThat is why I decided to go for a more joyful line which highlights the fantasy side of fabrics, combining that with the occasional tighter-waist model to be worn with a belt,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The owner of Maison Alexandrine explains that her plan from the get-go was for her work to be sold in the Middle East, among other places. \u201cEspecially Saudi Arabia, whose people I consider very educated, well-travelled and involved in all things fashion and sophistication,\u201d she says. She found ways to sell to Arab markets, and started making abayas with that in mind. Last year saw the brand join the first\u00a0Arab Fashion Week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alexandra points out that the abaya is a typical and traditional garment, but that Muslim women wear other types of clothing, such as party-wear and pr\u00eat-\u00e0-porter, under the abaya. \u201cWhich makes our brand 100% perfect for more elegant and fashionable women,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

In addition to offering different apparel to Muslim women, Maison Alexandrine sells Muslim fashion to non-Muslim women. \u201cAbayas are also caftans that make women elegant and charming in summertime. It\u2019s an often-used piece that, nowadays, with the modernity in the Middle East, fits perfectly in the day-to-day. After all, the world is a global village,\u201d says Alexandra. According to her, the pieces can be worn in resorts, beaches and yachts, with a swimsuit or a bikini. \u201cAnd even in a more casual party, when we designed the embroidery caftan that has the shine that a significant number of women like,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

An option <\/strong><\/p>\n

The type of clothing worn by Muslim women in Brazil vary greatly. There are women that wear long dresses and scarfs every day to those that simply wear more discrete clothes, that don\u2019t show any curves. \u201cIt is in the Qur\u2019an that women should dress in a discrete, proper way and hide the adornments. But this can not be imposed on to the women, with she being free to decide when and how to begin wearing the Islamic garments,\u201d says Muslim Soha Chabrawi. Muslim women wear the traditional garments inside the mosques. \u201cThe mosque is God\u2019s house and has to be respected. This means wearing Islamic garments inside the mosque,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Soha Chabrawi says that she knows only one store in S\u00e3o Paulo that has its own production and sells Islamic garments for women. She says that many people bring the pieces from Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Syria and other Muslim countries to Brazil and sell them at their houses, mosques, meetings and, more recently, online.<\/p>\n

Contacts: <\/strong><\/p>\n

iCovered – Beatriz Kehdy and Alessandra Melo<\/strong>
\nSales at Carol Martini collaborative store
\nPra\u00e7a Benedito Calixto, 165 – Jardim Paulista -S\u00e3o Paulo – SP
\nPhone 55 11 97651 5522
\nEmail:\u00a0icoveredstyle@gmail.com
\nFacebook<\/a>
\nInstagram<\/a><\/p>\n

Karla Silva<\/strong>
\nTaubat\u00e9 – S\u00e3o Paulo
\nPhone: 55 12 988898395
\nFacebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Ssotero – Sheila Sotero<\/strong>
\nBetim – Minas Gerais
\nPhone: 55 31 986727912
\nFacebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Maison Alexandrine<\/strong>
\nR. Lu\u00eds Machado Pedrosa, 59 – Jardim Paulista, S\u00e3o Paulo – SP
\nPhone: 55 11 28289733
\nWebsite<\/a>
\nFacebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum and S\u00e9rgio Kakitani <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

iCovered\/Press release<\/div>\n
Divulga\u00e7\u00e3o<\/div>\n
Karla Silva\/Divulga\u00e7\u00e3o<\/div>\n
Karla Silva\/Divulga\u00e7\u00e3o<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not that many brick-and-mortar stores sell Muslim women\u2019s clothing in Brazil. Still, the domestic industry is going strong, with a new batch of designers coming up and online sales.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1455,"featured_media":205044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[567,41084,568,2354],"class_list":{"0":"post-205084","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-special-reports","8":"tag-islam","9":"tag-muculmanos-en-2","10":"tag-muslim","11":"tag-women"},"wps_subtitle":"Not that many brick-and-mortar stores sell Muslim women\u2019s clothing in Brazil. Still, the domestic industry is going strong, with a new batch of designers coming up and online sales. ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1455"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}