Introduction
Due to the modernisation, Muslim fashion is evolving from the perceived religious purposes to official wear. Various fashion companies like Verona, DKNY, Mango, Annah Hariri and B. Zarina are designing comfortable hijabs, dresses and cardigans that can be fit when attending business meetings. Therefore, this research was developed to study emerging fashion and trends related to modern Muslim fashion wear, how the market has evolved and the societal perception. Initially, Muslims dress code was defined as a religious wear that depicted holiness and morality of believers (Jacoby 2004, p.209). Their women strictly followed the culture of covering virtually all their body parts only leaving a small part of their face. However, in the modern world, fashion has taken effect, and the old culture of Muslim’s dressing codes are gradually changing overtime (Al‐Mutawa 2013, p.241). This study will include interviews, analytical observance, social media and focus groups as the basic methods of qualitative research.
Interview between Researcher and Target Population
Here, the researcher is to attempt to obtain information from the target population, that is, Muslims who have adopted modern fashions. Interviewing is a simple technique of obtaining data where the researcher concentrates on finding first-hand information from an identified target. Some of the questions that can be asked during the interview include:
1. What type of fashion do you prefer?
The question addresses individuals’ considerations and choice of clothes, describing their balance between modesty and religion. While some Muslims wear are modest, they cannot be accepted in a religious function. Thus, an individual associated to such clothing might be labelled as non-religious.
2. How does the society perceive your choice of fashion?
In this case, the interviewer is concerned with the societal judgments about a Muslim fitting modern wear. The question will help in understanding a general view of the society towards civilisation and modernisation of religious wear. For staunch Muslims, this may be appear like deviation from religious teachings.
3. What is the Islam religion’s perception about western fashion?
Addressing this question is helpful in comparing religion and modernisation. While Islam may be against exposure of some body parts, the religion cannot completely disregard new designs of Muslim Fashions considered to be modest and comfortable at workplace.
Social Media Platforms
Social media platforms are important in obtaining information relating to Muslim’s considerations and choice of fashion. The researcher can also analyse comments and reviews on websites to understand the society’s perception about modern Muslim fashion. A myriad of websites and specialised blogs that showcase different designer outfits, advertising outlets, and display of abbayyas, jilbabs, head scarves, wraps and shawls are all quickly found in the internet (Latiff and Alam 2013, p.51). Many social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram are constantly used by Muslims to know what the new trending designs and how to acquire them.
Analytical Observance
Analytical observance entails critical evaluation of fashion magazines, blogs and websites. When performing a research on modern Muslim fashion, it is important to engage top selling fashion magazines for reviews and proposals. Hijab style, which is the first Muslim online style guide based in the UK, has been a great blog that has been frequently commended and featured reputable British fashion newspapers and magazines (Hassim 2014, p.84). It has equally inspired upcoming bloggers to follow its routes and ways of operations.
Focus Groups
This is a qualitative research technique that has certain number of people with a common understanding who analyse and give their opinion about the modern Muslim fashion. The rise in modest fashion over the last decade has come in reality with the Muslim generation who believe that modernity and faith go hand in hand and must all be respected and exercised (Mount 2017, p.12). The Muslim faithful’s want to wear their religion high but also want to be part of the society they find themselves in. The rising number of individuals in the Muslim middle class who have sophisticated and greater affluence in their taste of religion has made many Western brands to focus on booming the market such as DKNY, which created a capsule for Ramadan collection in 2014 (Boubekeur 2016, p.430).
Results of data collected
In the literature review, it was evident that Muslim women have taken a new twist, they wear urban chic and designs while maintaining their modesty and religion (Wagner 2017, p.97). It is additionally clear that by use of social media, majority of the Muslim community checks new trends in fashion through the internet and apply for such designs. Internet and social media make it faster for the new changes and new fashion styles to reach different Muslim individuals across the world. Equally, use of focus groups indicated a rise in the number of middle class individuals purchasing new brands from the western companies. Their motive was to get quality fashion designs that still appeared modest to their religion (Almila 2016, p.89).
Discussions
When Muslim women reach the new heights of wearing urban designs, it means that they have accepted the trends and fashion world (Jan and Abdullah 2015, p.10). This shows that modern fashion has given them a whole new look which enjoy and make them compete with the changing trends in grooming. In addition, by using social media and internet to get information in new trends in fashion design indicates that not only do the Muslim community embrace fashion change but they also embrace the use of technology that gives a lot of information that one did not initially have (Ali and Aslam 2016, p.148). This has made them choose different fashion styles that are modest to their religion and beliefs. Also, the increase in number of middle class among the Muslims that have made western brands to produce more attractive attires means that the demand of modern Muslim fashion has gone higher this shows that the Muslim community have embraced the change and modern fashion (Maqsood 2014, p.97).
Recommendations
It is recommended that many techniques should be used to get various views of the Muslim modern fashion. It is also prudent to collect data using more accurate methods such as interviewing the focus respondents.
Conclusion
It is, therefore, seen that new changes have occurred in Muslim fashion. The current world has designed so many fashions that are used by Muslim women such as designer outfits, head scarves and wraps among others. Muslims have embraced the modern fashion and many non-Muslim individuals are attracted to their styles of dressing and resorted to copy their new fashion as it has been seen in the research techniques used such as focus groups, use of social media and literature review.
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