The Evolution of Muslim Fashion | Kerim Ture | TEDxAUBG
Kieran, a founder of an online modest fashion company in Turkey, argues that the modern fashion industry ignores the styling needs of Muslim women, who require options that accommodate their religious or personal beliefs. The evidence supporting this claim is the need for varied garments, demonstrated by the initial difficulty finding enough long-sleeve tunics in a garment district during the summer. The initiative has grown to host over 300 brands on its platform, servicing over 100 million women globally and delivering to 120 countries.
## Speakers & Context
- Kieran, founder of an online modest fashion company in Turkey.
- Context involves addressing the fashion industry's inability to provide modern clothing options for Muslim women who wish to cover their bodies due to beliefs or allergies.
- The organization aims to "make Muslim women look and feel their best by providing them choice."
## Theses & Positions
- The problem facing Muslim women is not related to size, body type, or budget, but rather the fashion industry's failure to provide appropriate clothing options for those who cover their bodies.
- The fashion industry historically ignored the style needs of Muslim women, treating them as an overlooked market segment.
- Clothing is more than just fabric; it is a part of personal expression and identity, boosting self-esteem and self-confidence.
- The solution is establishing an internet platform that brings designers and labels together to offer variety and choice, enabling scaling beyond local markets.
- The fashion industry is beginning to acknowledge this need, with major brands like Nike, Donna Karan, and Marks and Spencer starting to cater to modest fashion.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Modest fashion/Hijab fashion/Islamic fashion:** Terms used interchangeably to describe the niche of clothing options for Muslim women.
- **Dressing coats:** Used generically to refer to the required style of clothing that must cover the body.
- **Segmentation:** The issue of small, local designers repeating themselves because they lack the market opportunity or ambition to expand their concepts.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Fashion Industry Blind Spot:** Historically, the industry treated modest clothing either as "black brokers" or "ethnic clothing," failing to provide modern, stylish options.
- **Platform Building:** The solution implemented is creating a centralized internet platform to connect global designers and labels, forcing a standardized, modern production capacity.
- **Scaling Model:** The platform allows small designers to transition from local neighborhood sales to global business scaling.
- **Market Growth Trigger:** The Internet acted as a catalyst, allowing women to see diverse styles online and generate demand that local markets couldn't satisfy.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **Early Days of the Company:** Kieran attempted to pitch the opportunity to investors, who initially assumed the market would only be interested in black clothing.
- **Initial Struggles:** When seeking plain long-sleeve tunics on the streets of Osman Bey (a garment district in Turkey) in June, found only 19 options, as most sellers prioritized short or sleeveless garments due to the season.
- **Recent Achievements:**
* Having reached 4,200 tunics in their platform.
* Having more than 300 brands on the platform.
* Delivering to 120 countries worldwide.
* Hosting the first Modest Fashion Week in Istanbul last year, planning to repeat it in London this year.
## Named Entities
- **Turkey:** Location where the company operates and was founded.
- **Osman Bey:** Specific street/garment district in Turkey visited during sourcing.
- **London:** Target location for repeating the Modest Fashion Week.
## Numbers & Data
- Percentage of population in Hawaii that is Muslim: **98%**.
- Percentage of population in Hawaii wearing hijab: **65%**.
- Number of long-sleeve tunics found in Osman Bey in June: **19**.
- Number of outlets in Osman Bey: **more than 600**.
- Number of tunics currently on the platform: **4,200**.
- Number of brands on the platform: **more than 300**.
- Number of countries receiving deliveries: **120**.
- Number of years Fashion Week has been held in London (as of the speech): **7 years**.
## Examples & Cases
- **The "Bad Dream" Analogy:** A woman wanting to go to a prom or shopping mall but being unable to find clothing options that meet her covering needs.
- **Investor Objection:** The investor suggesting the fashion focus would be limited to black garments, indicative of the industry's limited scope.
- **The Limitation of Local Shops:** Small labels repeating the same styles because there was no risk appetite or variety.
- **The Need for Proof:** The initial challenge of convincing local vendors to produce items because they did not trust the speaker ("they didn't accept checks").
- **Successful Trend Awareness:** Noting that major global brands (Nike, Donna Karan, Marks and Spencer) have started catering to this need.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Online modest fashion company platform:** The core business mechanism for aggregating and distributing modest fashion globally.
- **Internet:** Identified as the primary catalyst for the growth of modest fashion.
## References Cited
- None.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Alternative 1 (The status quo):** Muslim women are forced to accept "the same old boring clothes" from limited local sources.
- **Alternative 2 (The industry solution):** The platform model, which forces brands to adhere to modern standards and connect diverse styles globally.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The initial belief (from the industry) that Muslim women "don't have a sense of style" or that their needs could be confined to one color (black).
- The local vendors' initial lack of trust in an entrepreneur who could not pay instantly ("we don't accept checks").
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The journey must continue to help Main Street brands bridge the gap between the modest modern woman and the global market.
- Continue empowering designers to scale their work globally to ensure continuous "choice in style."
## Implications & Consequences
- Modernity and choice in style are intrinsically linked to a woman's sense of self-worth and participation in public life.
- The success of the platform proves that a significant, unmet global market need can be addressed by technology.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"The problem was her dressing coats her dressing coats were simply not fitting into the modern world's fashion industry standards."*
- *"the world was ignoring it and they was they were not ready to provide choice in style for the modern mothers women."*
- *"Islamic fashion let me guess the favorite color this year black."*
- *"no competition no risk appetite no variety."*
- *"it's more than that it's a part of your expression it's a part of your identity."*
- *"We thought it sounds there and we refuse to believe that Muslim women doesn't have a sense of style and they don't want to express themselves in their own way."*
- *"I can write you a check they said well we can produce it for you but we don't accept checks we want the money on the table."*
- *"Nike Donna Karan Marks and Spencer the giant brands started to listen them started to cater to that need."*
- *"What is next for us are we done we are not."*