BREAKING: Indonesian Designer Made History IN NewYork Fashion Show by Presenting All Hijabi Models

جب امریکی بم شہروں اور قصبوں پر گرتے ہیں تو کیا ہوتا ہے؟ اصل میں جب بم گرتے ہیں تو کیا ہوتا ہے چاہے شام میں بشر الاسد کے ہوں یا یمن میں سعودی حکومت کے، افغانستان میں امریکی بم ہوں-  

Ignoring the Burkini debate and racial slurs by Donald Trump, an Indonesian dress designer, Anniessa Hasibuan made history at the NewYork Fashion Week  by becoming the first to present all her designs in full hijab at #NYFW. She had made her mark at the first international modest fashion show in Istanbul earlier this year.

People who had attended the Istanbul show were in awe and had wondered whether Hasibuan would actualy show her designs at the New York Fashion Week the way she had done at the Istanbul Modest Fashion Week - in head to toe hijab.

Surprisingly, these hijab adorned models earned immense respect from the non-Muslim crowds. "When the lights dimmed and models walked off the catwalk at the Hasibuan show, the audience gave a standing ovation," writes BuzzFeed.

"The response was so positive that I have become more confident.” said the designer talking to BuzzFeed. 

Last month when the Burkini discourse in France was in full bloom, Marks and Spencer announced that their Burkini collection launched in March was all sold out. In January this year the luxury Italian Fashion house, Dolce and Gabbana launched its first ever collection of Abayas. Other fashion brands have also started dabbling in the market via their special Ramadan collections that were sold in the Middle East e.g. Oscar de la Renta, DKNY, Mango, and Tommy Hilfiger. H&M featured a hijab-wearing Londoner named Mariah Idrissi in a recent campaign video, marking a first for the retailer.

These developments  indicate that western society's fears of the  cultural eclipse are not baseless. Western culture and civilization feel threatened with dilution by strong influences of South Asian, Latino and Middle Eastern cultures. 

And all this chaos leading to the clash of civilization reminds me of a Charlie Chaplin parody by legendary Bushra Ansari aired on PTV in the late 80's during an election transmissions.

Ji chahta he koi aisa fashion aye,

Sari gorion ku koi burqa pehnae.

Media Bites Editorial - Tazeen Hasan

Published on September 17, 2016