‘Modest fashion’ headed for mainstream in spite of political hostility, say mavens

Fashion influenced through Islam and different religions is anticipated to transform “mainstream” globally, despite politicians singling out the burqa and the hijab, as the upward push of “modest fashion” is powered through influencers, luxurious manufacturers and massive tech.

The Conservative chief, Kemi Badenoch, has mentioned employers will have to be capable to ban team of workers from dressed in face coverings, prior to including that she used to be no longer in favour of a central authority ban.

Her remarks got here days after the Reform MP Sarah Pochin requested the high minister, Keir Starmer, if he would ban the burqa, a veil which covers the face and frame, following France’s lead.

Clothing worn through some Muslim ladies has transform a lightning rod for arguments about integration, private liberty, ladies’s rights and Islamophobia on all sides of the Channel. A French ban on kids beneath 15 dressed in the hijab used to be proposed remaining month, and in 2023, France banned ladies in state faculties from dressed in the abaya, the loose-fitting gown worn through some Muslim ladies.

Nonetheless, fresh analysis through Bath Spa University discovered that “persistent and growing demand” for modest style the world over – typified through looser types which duvet the limbs with a prime neckline – used to be pushed through Muslim customers and Instagram customers, with Amazon and Farfetch rising as marketplace leaders on the reasonably priced and comfort ends of the marketplace respectively.

Bournemouth University’s Dr Samreen Ashraf, who has pioneered UK analysis into modest style, mentioned its expansion used to be additionally pushed through ladies’s need to steer clear of objectification. She mentioned the marketplace remained underserved, with problems round transparent labelling from large manufacturers and affordability with smaller providers.

“It’s not just women with strong religious beliefs,” she added. Women who’ve confronted frame shaming or frame dysmorphia, who don’t have any trust, flip in opposition to modest style’s extra flowing designs.

“Reports have suggested growth of the European modest clothing market from €56.8bn to €72.5bn between 2021 and 2025 – 17.2% of that is UK, of which 6.5% identify themselves as Muslim. That has been one of the reasons why there’s been an upward turn.

“Also, with social media, people are feeling: ‘I can fully express my religious or cultural identity.’. Especially when the likes of M&S and Asos and Uniqlo and H&M are also offering modest clothing.

“It’s not just one religion however, but all faiths, and also empowerment: that if I don’t want to reveal my body to others, why should I? Blunt statements from people in power don’t serve any good purpose to women. Individual liberty, respect and tolerance are British values.”

Bath Spa University’s 2025 analysis discovered that main manufacturers’ manufacturing of hijab and Ramadan traces confirmed “the evolution of modest fashion into a mainstream fashion subculture”. Significantly, Muslim influencers on TikTok, lots of whom center of attention on modest style, exceeded 125m perspectives in 2023, says the expansion technique analysis company DinarStandard, which tasks that 30% of the sector’s 15- to 29-year-olds might be Muslim through 2030.

The buying energy of Muslim consumers – together with from rich Gulf states – is credited with main luxurious manufacturers to go into the gap, becoming a member of unbiased Muslim outlets and feminine marketers international. The aesthetic overlaps with “quiet luxury” and “old money” types, with “longer hemlines” in commonplace, in keeping with Vogue Arabia.

A 2023, Bournemouth University learn about, led through Ashraf, discovered “increasing stigma … associated with Islam post 9/11” had led Muslims to undertake a more potent sense of identification together with thru “choosing modest clothing items”.

After Pochin’s feedback, Muslim Women’s Network mentioned ladies who wore the burqa, or different non secular get dressed, have been “simply exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and belief”, whilst the Muslim Council of Britain mentioned “lazy tropes” have been getting used to malign a “proudly British” neighborhood.