Meet the designer behind the “first sports hijab in the world”

In 1999 when a Dutch Muslim girl was expelled from gym class due to her hijab, designer Cindy van den Bremen designed what she claims was the “first sports hijab in the world”. A decade later Cindy’s company Capsters helped lift the hijab ban on the football field by convincing FIFA with the safe design of a football hijab. Cindy tells Salaam Gateway more about Capsters.

Salaam Gateway:  Tell us why you set up Capsters.

Cindy van den Bremen: In 1999 I graduated from the Design Academy in Eindhoven in the Netherlands on a design project that was a range of sports hijabs . A Dutch Muslim girl was expelled from gym class due to her hijab, and the case went to court. It was decided the gym teacher can prohibit hijab in PE class for safety reasons. As an alternative the girls were allowed to wear a swim cap with a turtleneck since that would cover the same areas. This made me realize it was not about the covering itself, but the way the girls were covered. As a designer I wanted to solve this issue and design something that would honor the girls’ identity as well. This is how I came to design the first sports hijab in the world. I never intended to start a brand or a company that sells hijabs worldwide but due to all the publicity, I started receiving orders.

Salaam Gateway: What type of modest sportswear products do you design and manufacture?

Cindy van den Bremen: Capsters designs and sells modern sports hijabs in fashionable colors and high-tech material. Our biggest feature is that the wearer does not need pins, knots or an under-cover. Most of the Capsters sports hijabs are made of a lightweight breathable material.

Salaam Gateway: Where in the world can we find Caspsters products i.e. what are your distribution channels and in which countries can we buy Capsters products?

Cindy van den Bremen: Capsters sells different styles of hijabs and sports hijabs worldwide through our online shop www.capsters.com and a network of local resellers in over 10 countries. We prefer working with local resellers (both online and in physical shops) since they can communicate in their own language and offer lower shipping costs to customers. We also work with retail chains such as Sonee Sports in the Maldives. We would love to expand our network of sports retail shops, specifically in the Middle East and the Far East.

Capsters Outdoor (left) and Swim (right) range of sports hijabs

Image © Copyright Peter Stigter www.fashiontalk.nl

Salaam Gateway: What has been the biggest challenge for Capsters and how did you overcome that challenge?  

Cindy van den Bremen: To find the right producer for our products. We value quality and demand the best products for our customers. This means high-quality material and high-quality manufacturing. Both have been challenges, since we use relatively smaller amounts of textiles than, say, the regular fashion industry, we are less flexible with colors and different materials since we buy in smaller quantities. Also we’ve tried different manufacturers worldwide; so far just a few have passed the “Capsters” standard that we aim for.

Salaam Gateway: What’s been the biggest highlight/success for Capsters and could you tell us how that was achieved?

Cindy van den Bremen: Capsters helped lift the hijab ban on the football field by convincing FIFA with the safe design of the Capsters Football hijab/headscarf. It is made with a Velcro closing that is tested and approved for safety. Together with Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan (Ed. note: Prince Ali is Vice President of FIFA) we convinced the FIFA medical committee in Zurich to lift their ban on hijab.

Salaam Gateway: There are several modest sportswear companies coming up in different countries around the world. Does Capsters see a need for a merger of some of these companies in order to achieve scale and increase chances of penetrating more markets?

Cindy van den Bremen: We have been working with different parties; we develop custom-made Capsters Specials in different materials and/or color combinations. We have been developing the CapStylez design with Style Islam in Germany but that is from our casual range, and not our sports line. We have been approached by other modest sports brands to work together, but so far no concrete results yet. We distinguish ourselves with our high-quality designs, material and manufacturing.

Salaam Gateway: Is the modest sportswear market big enough to attract the major global sportswear brands such as Nike, Adidas and Reebok?

Cindy van den Bremen: I actually designed the first range of sport hijabs to fit these brands and after my graduation I approached the big sports brands. Apart from one brand that was interested in one of my designs, they encouraged me to launch the products myself. We are talking about 1999 when the hijab in the West was a sensitive issue. There was too much negative connotation that these brands didn’t want to be associated with, I think. I believe that the visibility of this upcoming Muslim market and the visibility of Muslim athlete role models (such as through Shirzanan Global, a news and advocacy initiative empowering Muslim girls and women through sports and media) have created a great potential for major global sportswear brands.

Salaam Gateway: What’s next for Capsters?

Cindy van den Bremen: New designs, color variations and definitely new challenges: we believe in the empowerment of women through sports and embrace and cooperate with initiatives that stimulate this. On our Facebook page we post topics in relation to this and put role models in the spotlight. We have a great network of local resellers but would love to be more present in the sports retail market, through chains in the Middle East and the Far East that supply active women with fashionable sportswear brands.

ABOUT CAPSTERS

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