Trends in modest wear ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr

Fashion designer Farah Mohammed.
Muslims across the world will soon be celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr, the celebration at the culmination of the month of Ramaddan, so I caught up with designer Farah Mohamed to discuss what fashion trends we can expect to see this year.

Farah tells me she studied fashion design at the Design Academy of Fashion in Woodstock and launched her fashion line, Farah, in 2013.

She said her late father, Rushdien Davids, inspired her to pursue a career in fashion.

“He ran a fabric cutting business in Salt River. As a child I would visit the factory and play with all the fabrics. I became intrigued and after high school I decided to study fashion. While growing up, I always had issues with pants being too long for me as I am a bit short so that was another reason why I wanted to design clothes for women,” she said. 

Farah sees fashion as being part of every aspect of your life.

“If you were going for a job interview you would dress differently to when you go to the gym. What one wears changes to fit one’s current need.”

She is a big fan of locally produced clothing.

“My father used to cut clothing for local designers such as Bombshell, Superstar and Cameo. They were all designers under the Young Designers Emporium (YDE) range and I have seen how international goods are flooding our market.

Locally produced goods are better quality and producing goods here creates much-needed jobs which has a knock-on effect on our economy,” said Farah.

The term “modest Muslim fashion” has become more popular among women.

Farah said the younger generation is opting to give hijabs a modern twist.

“Women are also pairing skinny jeans with longer tops or dresses to achieve the look and funk it up with accessories.”

She said scarves with a variety of prints such as animal prints are in at the moment.

“A trend that I am loving at the moment is wearing a beret over your scarf. I am going to recreate that look for Eid. I also love the rectangle neck scarves. Many people think scarves cannot be fashionable but it depends entirely on how you style it.”

Personally, I absolutely love it. It looks chic and doesn’t take a lot of effort.

Farah said black, red, cream and bottle green are some of the popular colours being worn this season.

Tips for Eid:

– Pair a maxi dress with a faux fur coat or melton jacket.
– Pair a palazzo pants with a polo neck jersey.
– Statement suits are great as the longer blazer gives one that touch of modesty.
– Knee-length midi-skirts are on trend and can also be paired with a polo neck and a faux fur coat.
– Slip dresses with a small slit on the side are popular at the moment. They are ideal with polo necks and long boots.

Farah is currently working on her evening wear and is planning on showcasing her new range in the coming months. To contact her, email farahd28@gmail.com   

On the international fashion front, Prada House announced last week that it would not be using fur in its 2020 women’s collection.

Thomas Pietsch, wild animal expert at Fur Free Alliance (FFA) member Four Paws, said: “The Prada Group is among many high-profile front runners who support a forward-thinking attitude as fur in fashion becomes less and less attractive. Consumers want to support companies that care about animal protection and are interested in the many alternatives to real fur that are already used in the fashion industry. This is what we also observe in our daily work as the official representative of the Fur Free Retailer Program in Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Germany and South Africa.”

Send your fashion tips to mika.williams@inl.co.za