Muslim swimsuits bare little on Turkish catwalks

Category: Faith & Spirituality, Life & Society Topics: Hijab (Head Cover), Veil (Burqa), Women Views: 11446
11446

Hair driers blast air and racks of clothing clatter past as organizers make their final preparations for a fashion show.

Some of the backstage bustle is downright comical. Short Turkish women, carefully wrapped up in trench-coats and brightly-colored Muslim headscarves, struggle to help towering, leggy models from Slavic and Latin countries change in and out of outfits.

This is not your typical fashion show. The show is highlighting Islamic women's clothing -- even though very few of the models working here are Muslim.

"Listen, I'm coming from Venezuela [where] we are always walking in shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops. Not afraid to show it. But here it's totally different," said Cristina Buderacky, a model who stood more then six feet tall in a peach-colored lycra outfit that resembled a pair of long-sleeved pyjamas with blousy trousers.

She later made a half-serious plea for help as a Turkish woman slipped a two-piece "bonnet" over her head. The headpiece tightly covered Buderacky's hair, leaving only her neck and face exposed.

Nearby, a Russian-speaking model dressed in a sky-blue version of the same outfit whispered to a friend, "I look like a clown."

Moments later, to the soundtrack of throbbing dance music, the women strutted across the stage dressed in an array of these pastel-colored costumes. The costumes are part of a swimsuit collection.

Known as Hasema after the Turkish company that manufactures them, the full-body suits are designed to let conservative women swim and exercise at the beach or pool without being too revealing.

Turan Kisa, an export marketer for Hasema, said the suits are exported to 35 countries.

"Muslim women are choosing these models," he said holding up a sequin-embroidered lilac-colored full-body bathing suit. "Especially the last five years, Muslim women [are] really following fashion."

According to the manufacturers at this trade show, the Islamic women's fashion industry is growing and evolving. It also seems to be co-opting sales and marketing methods perfected in the secular fashion world.

"Ten years ago, most of the colors were black or grey," says Halim Ozahi of the Turkish manufacturer Buketex. "Now you can see everywhere pink, yellow, blue."

Ozahi said during the same time period his company had gone from manufacturing 10 different dress designs to more then 150.

The designs on display here are a far cry from the black robes and all-concealing burqas many Westerners associate with the Islamic world.

"The younger generation of Muslims coming up, they want something stylish," said Hamza Ali, a visiting American who works with the South Carolina-based company Muslimclothing.com.

"There's nothing wrong with being beautiful, there's nothing wrong with being classy, nothing wrong with being fashionable, nothing wrong with wearing the latest thing out there. As long as it's modest," Ali added.

This relatively new industry may be growing, but it still appears to be dominated by men. Most of the sales representatives manning booths at the trade show are male.

Nur Yamankaradeniz is one exception. She designs high-priced gowns studded with Swarovski crystals for conservative Muslim women as well as their secular counterparts.

"A covered person should not be scary, she should look nice," Yamankaradeniz said. "We are trying very hard to get them to accept this."

Yamankaradeniz herself was dressed in a black trench-coat, with a lavender blouse, a brown paisley-patterned headscarf, and a gold watch studded with diamonds.

One of the few Muslim models hired to stride the catwalk here is Alfina Nasyrova, a woman who wore a midriff revealing t-shirt as she did her make-up backstage.

"In these clothes, you are feeling so clean, so pure," she said, after changing into a blue-and-white striped full body Hasema swim suit.

Asked whether she would wear a Hasema to the beach this summer, she answered, with a laugh, "Normally, I wear a bikini."

Source: CNN


  Category: Faith & Spirituality, Life & Society
  Topics: Hijab (Head Cover), Veil (Burqa), Women
Views: 11446

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Older Comments:
CLARK FROM USA said:
Respect and honor for all of its' citizens, regardless of gender, should always be the goal of every culture. This article is clearly disrespectful (ie: clown suits) to the tenents of Islamic culture. The absence of moral integrety so prevelent in euro-centric cultures is evidenced throughout the media. As a man of honor, I have more respect for a woman in a 'clown suit' than one in a hooker suit. I guess the question every man should ask is: What values do I want my daughters to learn? Ths article presents the opinion that women who practice values of Islam are viewed as clowns. Hows that for cultural acceptance and tolerance?
2010-08-12

NAI FROM US said:
I would not bother going to the beach or even to wear the swimsuit (technically men or women should not even be going due to the temptation factor) but it gives some women an option if they choose to go swimming. It's not something recommended (i.e. tightness) but it is better than wearing a bikini.
2010-06-19

BREEZE FROM NIGERIA said:
The principle or objective of these kind of events are not sanctioned by Islam. The beauty if Muslim women is not to be paraded or displayed like some ware. We should be wary of this as it is usually the prelude to some outright outrageous things.
2010-05-03

BANU FROM USA said:
It is better not to publish such articles. If Islamic swim suit looks like a clown, what do the bikini look like? Naked clown? All women must remember mother Mary(Maryam,R.A)as a role model. I think bright and printed islamic swim suit is not a good idea., instead light and dark colors like black and gray are better I think
2010-05-02