The Modist: Why It’s Not Just Hijabi Fashionistas Who Are Loving This Super Chic New Site | InStyle.co.uk
Published on InStyle.co.uk, 22nd June 2017
'For me growing up, I never saw anyone styled with a headscarf on any European fashion site that I visited,’ says Dina Torkia, a Birmingham based, Egyptian fashion designer/ blogger who in 2011 as result, set up her own platform where she could show that a 20-something-year-old hijab wearing woman could still be interested in fashion. Fast forward six years later, and Dina has amassed over 1 million followers on Instagram, runs her own successful clothing brand while also regularly collaborating with numerous high-end fashion brands. Dubbed ‘Hijabi bloggers,’ Dina represents a growing wave of women who love fashion, love trends and just happen to wear a headscarf while doing so. Now taking this concept to the next level, is The Modist, an e-commerce site, that aims to channel: ‘A confident new voice which showcases a fresh take on contemporary fashion, styled to not only respect your style choices but celebrate them.’
Founded by Ghizlan Guenez who previously worked in private equity for 12 years in the Middle East, the entrepreneur has assembled a team who bring a range of global fashion experience to the site with a focus on the luxury market. Lisa Bridgett, the company's COO, was the global sales and marketing director at Net-A-Porter; Sasha Sarokin, The Modist's fashion director, also comes from the luxury e-commerce site, where she was a global buying manager while the site’s Creative director Sally Matthews, was key in launching Harper's Bazaar Arabia and most recently served as the magazine's fashion and beauty director.
‘Modest' is a term which has recently become a bit of a buzzword in the fashion lexicon and according to a report from Thomson Reutersis it’s a section that is set to grow to into a £387 billion market by 2019. Add to fact that there are 630,000 searches per month for the term ‘modest fashion,’ and you can see why fashion brands have also been keen to appeal to the demographic. Earlier this year, Halima Aden, a hijab wearing model walked the runways for Kanye West, Alberta Ferreti and Max Mara alongside appearing on the cover of Carine Roitfeld's CR Fashion Book. Last year Dolce & Gabbana released a line of hijabs and Chanel styled their mannequins in its Rodeo Drive boutique in headscarves while recently Nike released a sports performance hijab. But the launch of The Modist sees the first dedicated site that is curating and liasing with brands to ensure to speaks and serves an audience who want to dress modestly as a whole rather than just for religious purposes. 'To me, dressing modestly is so powerful,' explains Halima Aden. 'It sends a message that I don't have to bare my skin to be beautiful and to be in trend with current fashions. I feel my best when I am covered, but at the same time, I respect other women's decisions to dress differently than me. I am not right or wrong with my clothing selections; I am just being me. The industry is changing for the better, to see a fully covered fashion model is incredible for young people who have never seen someone who dresses or looks like them represented in this industry. While scary to be the first at anything, I am most honored and have grown to realize that I am challenging norms and haven't changed myself or my values to do so.'
We knew that this type of woman was under served in the luxury fashion market so we wanted to give her a platform,’ explains the site’s creative director Sally Matthews. ‘Everything is thought through. It’s all about inspiring her and whatever the reasons are that she chooses to dress modestly. We wanted the site to feel very fashion forward and cool but at the same time very natural.’ Log onto the site and you’ll be met with editorial style shoots covering everything from festival fashion, to runway looks and summer essentials featuring brands that don't normally spring to mind when you think of modest fashion, think Christopher Kane, Ellery, Peter Pilotto and Marni. It’s modest but without being overly obvious that it’s modest. 'For me learning about what modest fashion is has been an interesting learning curve,' says Sasha Sarokin, the site’s fashion director. 'The only thing that isn't modest is wearing a short mini skirt as a short mini skirt. I organically dress modestly because I think it’s chic. For me it's not for religious purposes but I still see dressing in a modest way as being deeply relevant to me. The site is all about telling a story in a way that hasn’t been told in the industry for this woman. It’s celebrating her from an international fashion point of view. She hasn’t been included in these conversations specifically before and that’s something that I really love; that fashion can be celebratory and whimsical and bright and printed and risk-taking, and yet still respect the diversity of the women that love it.’
The Modist work directly with a lot of the brands, curating existing pieces that work and then tweaking designs so that they meet modest fashion dressing requirements. ‘Whether it’s for religious reasons or just for summer dressing we’ll talk to them about the length of hemlines, and the type of fabrics,’ explains Lisa. This train of thought is reflected throughout the site, from the monthly online magazine to the item’s description ('We don’t just give the measurements, we give detailing on the fabric so the buyer knows how sheer it is,' adds Lisa) to the overall styling of garments. In fact, it is the clever styling that is one of The Modist’s key USP. ‘A lot of the women who shop on the site are inspired by the whole look, says Sasha. ‘We are seeing a higher proportion of women that start out with one piece in their shopping basket before adding the rest of it. I look carefully at her shopping habits and lifestyle and think about both. So I’ll take a sleeveless shift dress from Marni and show that this can me made modest by wearing a white shirt underneath it, or even a thin knit. It’s all about interpreting trends.’
And although it's only early days for the site, this type of approach seems to be paying off. 'We are high fashion and high luxury so our selling point range is above $500,' says Lisa. 'The UAE is currently our biggest market. America is number two followed by the UK. We've also had lots of orders from Singapore, Nigeria, Canada, France, Italy, Turkey, Germany and Australia. It really is a global approach. What we're really excited about is being able to bring high fashion to areas that hadn’t really been dealt with in fashion industry before. We are really proud to be luxurious. From the images on the site to the packaging your order arrives in, everything has been poured over to make sure we're reflecting that sense of luxury.'
For bloggers like Dina this is a welcome and much-longed for platform. ‘It’s subtle integration of inclusivity and I think it's fab. It can get really boring as a Muslim woman to see brands try too hard as if to say: 'Look at us, we're tolerant of all women,' but in reality it's just a seasonal marketing tool. Whereas if you just do it naturally as part of the brand, it shows through without needing to scream about it. I think essentially that's a more effective technique and I think if we had this sort of thing when I was growing up then perhaps I wouldn't have ever felt the need to get online and try and represent it myself.’
'At the end of the day dressing should be about freedom of choice,' says Lisa. 'The thing that I have just been blown away by is just how much we can change the fashion agenda. It doesn’t have to be an approach that is just targeted at the one woman. There has been so much happening politically that it makes you think as women we have the ability now, to say difference is okay, and difference is beautiful and we should embrace it.'
