Workshop: Modest Fashion - An Expression of Contemporary Muslim Women’s Lifestyles and Identities in Europe

In the last two decades, Islamic modest fashion has transformed from being a niche market to a large-scale global industry. The commerce, which addresses variety of clothing needs of particularly Muslim women with different understandings of female modesty in Islam, is also field of cultural performance and creativity. The range of items is rapidly widening to reach a diversity of tastes and lifestyles as well as consumption habits in different social classes. The rise of high-end conservative fashion as in the case of Dolce & Gabbana’s modest looks and internationalisation of local producers such as Istanbul-based Modanisa indicate an international marketing trend as well, which includes modest fashion shows and magazines, bloggers, and other social media influencers. Islamic modest fashion should also be considered as an expression of identity in Muslim minority settings, particularly in Europe, and a way of altering stereotypical understandings of Islamic veiling as backward, oppressive, and traditional.

The workshop aims to offer an opportunity for interdisciplinary discussions intersecting the fields of European studies, ethnology, cultural studies, religious studies, migration studies, gender studies, and textile research. Taking modest fashion in a broader artistic, social, and cultural context, the workshop invites papers from doctoral and postdoctoral researchers who study contemporary Muslim culture in Europe including its creative and artistic spheres, youth culture, gender and fashion, and other related fields.

The workshop is funded by the Centre for Modern European Studies (CEMES) at the Faculty of Humanities.