Iman Aldebe is reclaiming the turban, and it’s turning heads

Photo: Iman Aldebe

Swedish fashion designer Iman Aldebe started designing turbans as a way to be less conspicuous in the West, which has been growing increasingly hostile to hijabis and Muslims. Now, she has successfully managed to break into the mainstream market with her haute couture turbans, which are worn as fashion statements in Sweden, Dubai, New York and Paris.

1. You have said that what sets you apart from other designers is that you want to create debates through your fashion. How do you do this?

I provoke thought through my collections because they attract attention and give legitimacy to the Muslim woman. I create clothes and turbans to make the Muslim woman more visible in the Western world.

2. What sort of criticism have you received from people who see modest fashion as regressive and anti-feminist? How do you counter these views?

My turbans are unisex, and both men and women buy them from my online shop or from retail outlets. I have always debated about the hijab in the Western community. It’s a democratic right for us to be able to choose to wear whatever we want to wear. If someone chooses to wear the hijab and modest clothes, it’s their legal right to do so. To try to ban Muslim schools, the hijab and the burqa is to interfere with personal lives. I also believe that you could be Muslim and feminist.

3. How did you get started as a designer of modest clothes, hijabs and turbans?

After 9/11, it was hard being a Muslim in the Western community. Many Muslim women decided to take off the veil because of the harassment against them. I felt I had to do something, so I started to style my hijab differently. I noticed that people began to treat me differently, and the negative association with the hijab was suddenly gone. I felt that I was on to something, and that’s how I started to design modest clothes, hijabs and turbans.

Photo: Iman Aldebe

4. In your experience, has Sweden changed their views towards Muslims and hijabis?

[Because of] the current situation of wars and terrorist attacks by some Muslims, Western society has a negative impression of Muslims. And nationalist parties in Europe are getting stronger each day. Politicians are discussing laws to try to make it harder to be a Muslim today. Wearing the hijab in the traditional way is very difficult today, but if you mix it with Western trends, it becomes a bit easier to be a hijabi today, especially in Sweden.

5. How would you describe your designs and style? Where do you draw your inspiration?

I get inspiration from non-fashionable places such as an iron store, a lamp shop, and from travelling and fabrics. When I touch the fabrics, I get images in my head and get very creative. I’m not the type of designer who starts sketching first. I try the fabrics on the doll until I get an idea of the final design.

6. What was your big break?

When I designed the first police uniform (a hijab hat) for the Swedish police 2011.

Photo: Iman Aldebe designed the a hijab hat for the Swedish Police in 2011

7. What do you think the future holds for turbans and veils, taking into account the climate of fear reigning due to the rise of populist anti-Islam politics?

Muslim women now dare to be part of the Swedish military, the police force, the fire department and so on. They needed to see that you can have your dream job even if you wear the hijab. I got a lot of hate from the Swedish nationalists when I designed the hijab hat for the police, but today it’s more acceptable. To take down the negative image about Muslim women, we need to be a part of society in every possible way and never give up. We are doing this for us and for our next generations.

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