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Hijab Shines at Jakarta First Islamic Fashion Festival

CAIRO – Fashionable modest Islamic designs will hit the catwalk at Jakarta’s first ever Muslim Fashion Festival, stealing the camera lights with designs that designs that blend the traditional Muslim hijab with haute couture.

“We want to showcase not just Muslim clothing, but accessories as well,” said Taruna K. Kusmayadi, project director of the festival, as reported by Antara, Jakarta Globe reported on Thursday, May 19.

Held by the Indonesian Fashion Chamber (IFC), the festival will feature representatives from Malaysia Fashion Week, as well as designers from Turkey, Italy, Russia, United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh grouped under the Islamic Fashion and Design Council (IFDC).

Taruna added that in 2014-2015 Muslim customers spent $230 million to buy modest wear.

The number is expected to go up to $327 million by 2019.

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“We want Indonesia to be the hub of the global Muslim fashion industry by 2019,” she said.

Islam sees hijab as an obligatory code of dress, not a religious symbol displaying one’s affiliations.

Modesty and religion are the cornerstones behind the fast-growing Islamic fashion industry, which is making a mark on runways from Indonesia and Dubai to Monte Carlo.

Islamic fashion is part of a growing appetite for Shari`ah-related industries and assets, ranging from finance to halal food.

High-end brands such as Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan New York, as well as high street stores like Zara and Uniqlo, are known for releasing Ramadan or `Eid collections in countries with large Muslim population.

Indonesia is the fifth biggest market for Muslim fashion, after Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, China, India and Turkey are the three biggest exporters of Muslim fashion.