Will the hijab go mainstream couture? Modanisa’s Kerim Türe predicts modest fashion’s future

Days after Modanisa.com exclusively signed Anniesa Hasibuan, the first modest-fashion designer to present at the New York Fashion Week (NYFW), the fashion website’s CEO Kerim Türe is happy to predict great things for the industry.

“In five years, modest fashion is going to be mainstream, and it will also influence Western fashion,” Türe said to My Salaam during the Global Islamic Economy Summit (GIES), which was held in Dubai on October 11 and 12, 2016.

At the recently concluded NYFW, Anniesa Hasibuan, the first Indonesian at the prestigious show, impressed the fashion world by being the first to present every look with the hijab, pairing it variously with suits, kimonos, trousers, tunics and long dresses, mostly in the silks that Jakarta is known for.

“She’s the first modest-fashion designer to have a slot in the NYFW and we’re proud of that,” Türe said. In May 2016, she also presented at the first-ever modest-fashion event held in Istanbul, and as a major sponsor, Modanisa takes pride in the event. For Türe, it showed that the modest-fashion world is embracing the diversity that still remains a challenge for many Islamic brands hoping to reach Muslim customers.

“Istanbul Modest Fashion Week was about … creating new capabilities for our industry. Three years ago, it was not easy or common to find an abaya in Turkey. Today, you can see people wearing it. Fashion affects others. Earlier in Turkey, there were only two ways of wearing the head scarf. Now you see tonnes of different drapes on the street. I can see a Turkish scarf in Indonesia with flower patterns unique to Turkey,” he said.

Collaboration was a buzzword at the GIES this year in everything from finance to fashion. And Türe is, as always, an early adopter of a trend that can enhance business. “You need to gain from the experience of others,” he said.

 “We’re trying to form mainstream modest fashion. There is a lot of collaboration [and] inspiration from modest-fashion designers from different countries. We’re seeing designers take Indonesian or Pakistani patterns, put them together and bring out something interesting and viable for the market.” The difference, he emphasised, lies in curating, which can mean adding a particularly styled scarf to the ubiquitous long jacket to make it more suitable to the locale.  

“People [look at] each other, and they mix and match with each other. The pattern is not new, but it’s about knowing how to use it and differentiate it with your touch,” he added.

Modanisa itself is going strong, Türe said. Established in 2011, the online fashion retailer now reaches nine million customers a month. “We have 300 different brands and more than 45 designers. We have 30,000 SKUs [stock keeping units] and we ship to more than a thousand cities in more than a hundred countries,” he said, adding that free shipping is now available to the GCC and other destinations.

As the world gets smaller and fashionable Millennials lead the demand for modest fashion, Türe is exploring ways to reach Modanisa’s audience base. One of these is setting up two stores in Turkey.

“We’re trying to understand and analyse the dynamics of physical retail. People are approaching us to open [Modanisa stores], but we are trying to find the best product mix and best value for the customer,” he said. The stores that were launched two years ago may use the concept of ‘showrooming’, where a shopper visits a store to try on a product only to buy it online.” 

“We’re purely an online company. We want to show people the quality of Modanisa collections and sizes so they can try them there and buy online,” Türe said.