miladevil: hijap style

I recently had the chance to get in touch with Sonya Ahmed, the director of new British label Nahara. It's fair to say I'm pretty excited by what this company has to offer; read on to find out more about it all started and the inspiration behind the designs.

Jana: Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to start Nahara?

Sonya: I had been travelling in Turkey, Kenya and Pakistan, and had come across many examples of beautiful Islamic art and architecture, as well as traditional textiles. I started to feel a sense of personal loss that here in the UK, I had little access to this rich culture. I also felt a little disappointed that in so many countries, fashion was taking a fully Western direction, while millennia-old legacies of art and design skills were being disregarded. Many of those traditional skills are still alive, of course, but often put to the task of creating low quality tourist-friendly items.

There is a sense that to modernise fashion, designs have to be fully Western or quite revealing. This tends to suggest an inherent belief that your own art and your own cultural aesthetics are inferior, static and unable to evolve. I think it is much more interesting and challenging to see how these traditional skills and designs can be ‘re-presented’ in a contemporary style, to create something new and relevant, but without all the stereotypical associations of ‘Eastern’ and ‘ethnic’.

As well as creating beautiful and high quality clothes, Nahara is also intended to be a vehicle to explore contemporary expressions of traditional art and what that means for us in a modern European context. I have always had an interest in fabric, although I have been practicing as a doctor for last 13 years. So, for me, this is an opportunity to engage in some creative work and to create something of value. I am in my element when I am choosing fabric for a collection or wandering round a fabric fair!

It took a long time to decide on the name! It is probably one of the most agonising tasks in starting a new business! Nahara, in Arabic, means river. A river can change its appearance quite dramatically, from a trickling mountain stream, to a raging torrent near the sea, and yet amazingly it is the same river all along. Similarly, I think there are traditions and values that remain constant in any spiritual tradition, even though the expression of it can look very different in different times and places. So it seemed a nice fit for what I hope to express through Nahara. It is also my mum’s middle name!

Jana: You collaborated with artist Samir Malik on your launch collection; tell us more about how that went?

Sonya: Working with Samir has been fantastic. Samir’s work is very contemporary in appearance yet built on the foundation of an ancient art. Samir and I both have a passion for producing designs which are authentic and meaningful, and which create a sense of contentment and spirituality through beauty. I feel that the style of his art really encapsulates what Nahara is all about, and so, collaborating with him has been a great way to introduce the label. We are working on some videos to show the meaning behind the art, and they touch on some issues around modern calligraphy and its links to classical training. You will be able to see these videos on the Nahara website.

Jana: Your designs are clean cut and contemporary, yet modestly fitting. What challenges did you face in trying to achieve that balance?

Sonya: This is a great question! Nahara is very much about a quiet luxury, where the focus is on the quality of the fabric, the tailoring and the subtle expression of artistic traditions. Many of the Asian clothes that are imported to the UK are often very highly embellished but poor in quality. They are not designed specifically for a European context, so they are usually reserved for weddings and parties. With Nahara, which is based in London, I wanted to create European clothes with a hint of that other identity, designs that transcend the idea of having two separate wardrobes, neither of which fully expresses the blend of cultural influences that most of us have. I think there are still a lot of stereotypical and Orientalist associations with all things Eastern, and a certain expectation that clothes must be brightly coloured, flouncy and dripping in sequins and mirrors. Yet there are far more sophisticated ways of expressing the artistic values of a culture, for example, fluidity of movement, traditional patterns, and hand weaving techniques. So one challenge is to express accents of traditional art and culture in a contemporary and minimalist way. The second challenge is to convey luxury through fabric and finish rather than through heavy embellishment. A third challenge is in creating styles that make women feel confident and attractive without being overtly sexual. But actually this is not so difficult if you to look to historically traditional styles and see the draping and weaving techniques that were used throughout most of history.

Jana: What was it like showing your designs on the runway at the Urban Muslim Woman show in June? Will you be continuing your off-line as well as online presence?

Sonya: The UMW show was Nahara’s first show. I was very pleased to be in the show this year, alongside other well-known British and international designers. It was a little overwhelming to see something that was just an uncertain idea two years ago, to be on the stage in front of hundreds of women! I knew that my designs would be more European in style than the other designs in the show, so I was a little nervous about that, but the feedback from women during the show was great, with a lot of interest in seeing the rest of the collection. For an online brand, without a bricks and mortar presence, these events are very important to build awareness and to convey the quality of the materials. I would have liked to meet the other designers, but we were all busy preparing our collections, so there wasn't much time to do that.

Jana: Where and when can customers purchase Nahara clothing?

Sonya: By mid-July the website will be available for online orders. Initially garments will be made to order, and will take 2 weeks for delivery. All garments will be made in a studio in London. Women interested in particular items, prior to the website launch, are also welcome to contact Nahara on contact [at] nahara.co.uk, or via the Facebook page, for information and to place orders. I will consider stocking Nahara in department stores later in the year or early next year.

Thursday, 20 June 2013

June Giveaway

There haven't been any giveaways on the blog for a while, but they're back, and kick-starting with your chance to win a copy of 'Modest Fashion: Styling Bodies, Mediating Faith', edited by Professor Reina Lewis. This newly published book looks at the emergence of the modest fashion market amongst different faith groups and includes perspectives from designers, entrepreneurs and bloggers (Hijab Style included!).

To be in with a chance of winning, you must do two things:

1. Subscribe to the Hijab Style newsletter (right hand side bar of home page)

2. Complete the following sentence: 'My favourite modest fashion brand is ____ , because _____ '

Send an email in with your answer, full name and city with 'June Giveaway' in the subject line to hijabstyle@hotmail.co.uk. Please note that if any of this information is missing, you will not be entered into the competition. The deadline for entries is midnight GMT on Friday 28th June 2013. The winner will be chosen at random and contacted via e-mail.

Don't forget to tell all your friends and family too - the giveaway is open to entrants from all countries!

Monday, 17 June 2013

New Collection @ Haute Hijab

Haute Hijab have announced that their Spring/Summer 2013 collection is due to launch tomorrow (June 18th), along with their redesigned website! I always look forward to the new arrivals from Haute Hijab as it's one of the few modest fashion companies that really take into consideration the needs of their target audience and how their clothes will actually be worn. These classic pieces are elegant and well made, and you won't need to faff about with clingy fabrics and poor workmanship. Secondly, I love the fact that HH are restocking old favourites like the Majestic Lace Skirt; so if you didn't get your hands on it first time round, here's another chance.

Classic Day Skirt - Striped

Classic Day Skirt - Polka Dot

Majestic Lace Skirt

Fancy Flare Bottom Top

Sophia Gown

Thursday, 13 June 2013

The WWW: Summery Orange

Following on from yesterday's post, here's one way of styling an orange shirtdress for a bright but professional work look. Team with tailored trousers in a soft neutral shade and a white cropped jacket to pull the whole look together. Gold jewellery compliments orange really well and you can incorporate prints subtly with a pair of snakeskin shoes.

Cropped jacket £59.99, Mango; Orange dress £19.99, H&M; Dusty Pink Silk Hijab £25.99, Aab; Shantung Trousers £34.50, Phase Eight; Celandine Ring £12, Monsoon; Cinema Court Shoes £55, Jones Bootmaker; Cissone bag £50, Aldo.

Wednesday, 12 June 2013

High Street Finds: Orange

It's not often I see people wearing orange, but this colour has literally been popping up everywhere in stores. Here are some of my picks from long sleeve blouses to bright blazers, or even try a printed scarf. Keep an eye out for styling ideas coming up tomorrow!

Top left to bottom right:

Cream Flowers Hijab £8, Hijab Jewels; Arras shirt £85, Reiss; Drawstring draped shoulders dress £34.99, Mango; Long silk satin skirt £29.99, Zara; Orange jacket £30, Wallis; Linen cotton-blend tuxedo blazer £47.99, Mango.

Tuesday, 11 June 2013

Event: Shubbak Discussion Panel

The Shubbak Festival is taking place in London, starting on June 22nd, and is a celebration of contemporary Arab art and culture. One of the events taking place as part of the festival is a talk on Faith and Fashion on June 25th. I'll be speaking on the panel along with designer Rabia Z, film-maker Soniya Kirpalani and Professor Reina Lewis from the London College of Fashion. I'm very much looking forward to the event and seats are booking up fast, so if you're interested in attending, please RSVP to the email address below. I look forward to seeing you there!

Monday, 10 June 2013

Product Review: Hijab Obsessions

Hijab Obsessions are a business that I've featured before on the blog, when I reviewed their jersey hijabs. They have now expanded their range into clothing which includes skirts and dresses. They sent me their Colour Block Jersey Maxi Dress a while ago to review, and I decided to put it to the test during my travels.

The top half of the dress is long sleeved black jersey, which is then attached to the teal coloured skirt. The dress is available in two lengths: regular and tall, but only limited sizes are available up to UK 14. The regular length I found was just right for me at 5'3. The dress is designed to be high-waisted, but I personally found the top half to be far too short and would have preferred if the skirt started lower down.

I'm not usually a fan of wearing jersey clothing, especially in the UK, but it's ideal for holidays and definitely very comfortable to wear. However, I didn't find it helped much in the heat for two reasons (although in 38 degrees, everyone will feel hot no matter you're wearing!). Firstly, although the bottom half of the dress is loose and falls in folds rather than straight down, I felt I needed to wear a slip underneath to stop the fabric from clinging when walking. Secondly, the top half is very tight and fitted and I wasn't comfortable wearing the dress without a jacket over the top, which made the long sleeves obsolete. I paired mine with a denim shirt, but a black blazer looks great for a smarter look.

In terms of the quality, I found that after several washes the black fabric was starting to look tired in places, but otherwise the dress held up well after quite heavy use. I would also advise ironing the dress on the reverse side to maintain the fabric too. The colour seems to show up as a bright blue in photos, but in reality has more of a green tone.

Overall, I think the dress is a beautiful colour and a great option for the summer months, but may need to be worn with other items over the top depending on your taste. The dress and other skirts are available to buy on the Hijab Obsessions website.

Wednesday, 5 June 2013

Home Sweet Home

Three countries and eleven plane flights later...I'm back home safely after the trip of a lifetime! In this time I also found out that I passed my final exams, graduated from medical school and got a job offer! In the midst of everything, apologies for not updating the blog, but I'll be posting more pictures from my travels soon as well as catching up with the usual Hijab Style content. Thank you for your patience!