When Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana Designers released its first collection of abayas and hijabs earlier this month, Forbes called it the company's "smartest move in years."
A growing number of Western fashion brands, including Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, and MANGO, are realizing that it's important to start catering to Muslim women.
Some Muslim women welcome these moves as signs that the fashion world is taking their needs into consideration. Fashion blogger Hassanah El-Yacoubi wrote that D&G's new line should be lauded because it aligns the company against Islamophobia.
But others are not very enthusiastic about the collection. Dina Torkia, a popular British fashion designer and blogger, is wondering what the fuss is about.
"I feel like I should be happy, ecstatic even, perhaps eternally grateful? That’s what seems to be the general reaction to this news so far. But, I can’t help but feel incredibly underwhelmed, possibly even a tiny bit insulted by the collection," she wrote in a blog post.
Torkia goes on to write that the abayas that D&G released seem too similar to the lacey, embroidered, traditional clothing that many Muslim women have grown up with. The kind of thing she could pick up at her local abaya store. As a designer herself, she doesn't see the aesthetic in this collection as anything new.
Muslim women have been designing and styling their own unique fashions for years -- experimenting with colors, patterns, and fabrics in incredibly creative ways.
Here are 15 women who were making waves in the Muslim fashion world long before D&G got in the game.
Dian Pelangi
Instagram
@dianpelangiWith nearly 4 million followers, Indonesian designer
Dian Pelangi may be one of the most popular Muslim fashion icons on Instagram. Follow her feed for an inside look at her travels around the globe.
Dina Torkia
Instagram
@dinatokio
Not only does this English fashion designer and blogger have an impeccable sense of style, she's also a
ridiculously funny entertainer. Follow her on Instagram but make sure to subscribe to her
YouTubechannels as well.
Hassanah El-Yacoubi
Instagram
Sania Siddiqui
Instagram
@saniasSania Siddiqui is a social worker from New Jersey. She's also a layering queen -- elegantly pairing solid neutral colors with pops of patterns and stripes.
Ibtihaj Muhammad
Instagram
@ibtihajmuhammadNo list of Muslim fashionistas would be complete without the beautiful Ibtihaj Muhammad. Ibtihaj owns the modest clothing brand
Louella, which is based in Los Angeles. And did we mention she's also a fencing world champion who is
training for the 2016 Olympic Games? Get it, girl.
Sobi Masood
Instagram
@sobi1canobiSobia Masood is a student at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology. In an interview with
HuffPost Live, she explained that wearing the hijab helped her feel closer to her religious roots.
"Islam doesn't tell us exactly what outfit to wear, or what colors to wear or what headpiece to wear. It gives us a certain guideline. Every Muslim woman has the right to interpret it the way they want to," she
said.
Maryam Asadullah
Instagram
Dalal Al-Doub
Instagram
@dalalidDalal Al-Doub is a Kuwait-based blogger who shares beauty advice and fashion advice. She's incredibly popular on Instagram, with 1.5 million followers and counting.
Saufeeya Goodson
Instagram
Mariam Sobh
Instagram
@hijabtrendzMariam Sobh is a journalist based in Chicago. She launched @Hijabtrendz, a fashion, beauty and entertainment blog for Muslim women in 2007.
Reem Motaweh
Instagram
@aboutthatwrapReem Motaweh brings a cool California aesthetic to the hijabista scene. She's the brains behind
aboutthatwrap, a subscription service offering new scarves and wraps.
Sagal Ibrahim Shire
@sagaleeyaaSagal Ibrahim Shire is a
Somali-British fashion and lifestyle blogger. She has a passion for regal head wraps in every color and size.
UPDATE: Feb. 2 -- This list has been updated to include @sagaleeyaa.
