Fashion

The Struggles of Muslim Fashion

By Badriya abdullah

I n 2017, during a French lesson, I asked why Muslim girls couldn’t wear the hijab in French schools. The answer was simple: ‘All religious symbols are banned in French schools’. Not knowing any better, and being the only Muslim in my class, I thought nothing else of it. No religious symbols - it puts everyone on the same playing field, right? Cut to July 2021, and the European Union’s highest court has ruled that employers can forbid visible symbols of religious and political beliefs. Suddenly it hits me: this isn’t a level playing field at all.

Muslim women’s clothing has been the subject of debate across the West for decades, and yet until this year, I was incredibly ignorant of it. As a non-hijabi (a Muslim not yet wearing a hijab), I know that whenever I choose to commit to the most visible symbol of my faith I would be fully supported by my friends and family. To those in the EU, the government is increasingly making that choice for them, and the answer is increasingly becoming ‘No’.

The recent ruling in July hasn’t been the first time Muslim women have faced difficulties in their desire to dress how they choose. In February of this year, the French Senate proposed the ‘Anti-Separatist Bill’, officially aiming to reinforce respect for secularism in France. However, within those measures came the proposal to ban the wearing of religious symbols within a public setting for children under 18. These are the same measures applying for parents wishing to accompany children on school trips. Throughout the entire bill, there is no mention of any religion, seemingly not discriminating against anyone. Yet, social media read between the lines and outrage flashed across all platforms. TikToks appeared with young girls wearing snapbacks and hoodies to conceal their hair. Young women pointed out the hypocrisy of how the city of fashion can praise a silk headscarf on a runway while shunning a hijabi on the street. Some pointed out how the age of consent to sex would be lower than the age to wear the hijab in public. Others reminded us of how this wouldn’t be the first time rules about clothing discriminated against Muslim women and directed us to the number of French towns that had banned burkinis in 2016, along with the slew of fines issued.

Yet, the struggles Muslim women are put through for choosing to dress modestly are contained within the community without much outside support. Norway’s female team for the European Handball Championship was recently fined for not wearing bikini bottoms during one of their matches, which sparked outrage across social media and an immense amount of support. The singer P!nk even offered to pay the fine herself.

But, the same courtesy does not extend to the normal women in hijabs, dropping off their children at school. No one offers to pay the fines of the average woman wanting to cover up on the beach instead of wearing a swimsuit. As a society, we embrace the idea of being free to choose how we want to present ourselves, but for those who choose to cover up, they find it increasingly difficult.

Photo: Unsplash

The Criticism behind Molly-Mae Hague Landing Top Position at Pretty Little Thing By Lauren Bramwell

Influencer and former Love Island contestant Molly-Mae Hague has landed a job as Creative Director at the fast-fashion phenomenon Pretty Little Thing. The brand is one of many owned by the Boohoo Group, with Hague to oversee the launching of creative assets at a high level - advertisements, products, and creative strategies. But should we be celebrating this achievement?

Hague has received criticism for taking on this new role. Some feel it is unfair to appoint the influencer instead of those trained in the needed qualifications. Others focus their energy on the prevalent issues within the fastfashion company.

For example, Pretty Little Thing has received backlash after the alleged underpaying of garment workers. In a 2020 investigation, PLT’s parent company Boohoo was found to pay its factory workers less than half a living wage at £3.50 an hour. Aside from these shocking discoveries, fast fashion’s neglect for garment workers is becoming widespread knowledge - with this investigation further highlighting the dark side of the industry.

But some have deemed it unfair to criticise Hague for taking the role, as she has not been able to voice where she stands with the company’s controversies. However, Hague’s association with PLT since leaving the villa in 2019 had her become a brand ambassador before securing three collaborations with them. Therefore, more criticism follows, as this contradicts the idea that she had no time to assess her standing on PLT’s ethics. The idea is that Hague has had excess opportunities to comment on their controversial ethics and to raise her voice against it.

This sticky situation has stirred additional online activism. Activist and writer Gina Martin responded to Hague’s Twitter announcement, saying: ‘Would love to see you use your new influence, leverage, and power to push for your garment workers to be paid above a living wage!’

While an opportunity of a lifetime potentially scoring millions, the criticisms weigh that it is irresponsible to accept a role without addressing the problems within the fashion industry. As Hague has yet to address such issues in the past three years, we can only hope that it will one day be on the brand’s radar. Hopefully, her new role will see an improvement in valuing their workers and reducing landfills, but we can only wait and see.

Shein to Launch Design Competition Reality Show: Redemption for Indie Designers?

By elizabeth woor

As part of their seemingly unstoppable rise towards fast fashion domination, Shein recently launched their own reality TV contest. The show, which is now available to stream via Shein’s app, features 30 emerging designers competing to win a $100,000 prize and a capsule collection on the brand’s website.

There is even a star-studded panel of judges, which includes Khloe Kardashian, designers Christian Siriano and Jenna Lyons, fashion editor Laurel Pantin, and stylist Law Roach.

Representatives from the brand stated that the show was created as part of ‘one of the many large philanthropic initiatives from the brand in 2021, and aims to bring people together in celebration of fashion’.

Frankly, this is an insult to those who do love fashion.

If you’re not aware of Shein, they are one of the largest fast-fashion retailers in the world, shipping to 220 countries and having an estimated value of $15 billion. The brand shot to success after growing in popularity for their shockingly low garment prices and for stocking a huge range of designs. It must be stated that their production model produces enormous amounts of damaging carbon emissions and textile waste. However, a particularly negative aspect of their operation is that often their designs are inspired by, or ripoffs of more expensive pieces from independent artists and designers.

Although Shein may appear to be another affordable brand allowing people to indulge in clothing pieces they otherwise are unable to purchase, it is safe to say that the company has been at the centre of a vast number of accusations of stealing designs. Much more than H&M, Primark, or Zara, for example. This is what truly makes this TV show a piece of hypocritical art.

The show actively supports independent artists and designers – the same people they have been stealing from for years without any significant repercussions. Only a few months ago the retailer stole a jumper pattern from the small brand Elexiay, which produces sustainable, handmade crochet clothing. Shein didn’t bother to change the design in the slightest. As you’d expect, Elexiay commented that they felt crushed by the situation.

This TV show is in no way a redemption for the fast-fashion giant. It is great that small designers are being showcased to a large audience. However, evidence shows that this project may be nothing but a PR stunt than an actual redemption for indie designers. As the saying goes, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

12 Fashion Androgyny in Male Celebrity Fashion: Fad or Fundamental?

by molly phillips

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

A photograph of Lil Nas x on the L’Uomo Vogue Instagram accompanies the statement that the gay, androgynous rapper ‘is not merely having a moment. He is the moment.’

Indeed, Lil Nas X has achieved huge success in recent months, perhaps in particular with his song Call me by your Name, named after the gay romance novel by André Aciman and featuring explicit themes of queer identity. Openly a member of the LGBTQ+ community himself, Lil Nas X wears stilettos and Calvin Klein underwear in the music video, pole-dancing his way into Hell. It is perfectly brilliantly queer-coded, and a stark androgynous image, steeped in all kinds of religious imagery.

And, of course, there was backlash to such a video.

But gender identity has been the topic of significant consideration in the last few years. It is an issue that Lil Nas X, along with celebrities like Harry Styles, embodies proudly. Yet androgynous appearances are not as new a concept as people might believe.

The first mention of androgyny is found in Plato’s Symposium in 385 BC. Fashion, of course, has meant something different to each historical demographic. All Ancient Egyptians wore jewellery to indicate social position rather than gender, makeup to protect their skin, and perfume as deodorant. Ancient Egyptian fashion sense could, in our eyes, be seen as androgynous, but was it so easily classifiable to them? In other parts of history, men wore stockings, Victorian boys dressed in frocks until they were five years old, and high-heels (a variety of which Lil Nas X wears in his music video) were made in 10th Century Persia - for men. Then, in the 20th Century, performers like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Prince, James Dean, and more embraced androgyny as part of their identities.

The boundaries of gender expression have changed so much over time. So too, then, have our perceptions of androgynous fashion. What is defined as ‘androgynous’ to one generation, is highly gendered to another. For example, trousers, which to past majorities were exclusively masculine, are now worn regardless of gender without being seen as androgynous. It is therefore difficult to class celebrity androgyny as a fad or an expression of ‘wokeness’. There have always been blurred lines between gendered expression, just as there have always been blurred lines between the socially constructed binary of masculinity and femininity.

That is not to say that men who dress androgynously in the public eye have not faced backlash. Only that those who oppose an androgynous identity are missing the point. Lil Nas X is part of a longer-standing tradition than they know, responding to the likes of Bowie and Mercury, but also to an age-old question of oneself. He is not ‘the moment’ because he is doing something unheard of, but because he is highlighting the importance of the authentic self in a world where everyone has an opinion on who you are.

No one gets to decide that.