From May 13-14, Istanbul hosted its first Modest Fashion Week at the Haydarpasa Railway Station. This event was broadcasted globally and has received a high amount of praise, from the fashion industry to political figures.

Though Turkey has received all of this praise for having a fashion show dedicated to conservative, Muslim fashion, many religious conservatives have spoken out against the fashion show saying that it goes against Islamic law.

Designing and promoting modest fashion in Muslim areas is tricky. On one hand, it relies on fashion and people's personal styles and preferences associated with capitalism, modernity, and change. But on the other hand, Islamic fashion designers have to be mindful of the Koran and follow its strict principle of veiling for the religious, cultural, and sometimes political references.

At the fashion show, a large group of protesters spoke out against the designers' portrayal of the headscarf. They claimed that it was used more as an accessory, rather than as the symbol of a persons' Islamic identity. They even went so far as saying that, since the headscarf seems to function as just a mere accessory, that it has been sacrificed in the name of fashion and is being used as a tool for capitalism.

Arguments have come about on social media about the different stances of Turkey's Modest Fashion Week. While some take a more liberal stance, saying that people should wear what they want and show their Islamic faith in the way they see fit, many Muslim conservatives are calling out the "atrocities" the fashion show portrayed through the headscarf. The conservatives argue that "there cannot be veiling fashion. Because worshipping practices cannot be the subject of fashion."

With this debate in mind, there is some good to come of this. Due to the rise of modest fashion in Muslim countries, scholars and religious experts are starting to think of their religion in today's world. Can the headscarf be an object of fashion? Is there a way that the modest fashion industry can appeal to both the fashion world and the religious world? What does it take to be seen as both modern and Muslim?

As this fashion show debacle heated up, it opened up a new argument in Turkey between secularists and Islamists to debate who is right. Even if the conservative Muslims are correct, saying that modest fashion violates the meaning of the headscarf, the modest fashion industry is not going to stop. So, the modest fashion industry will have to keep on designing new styles and clothing to appeal to both conservatives and fashion lovers, in order to help the Islamic world figure out how Islamic fashion is going to find its place into the world.

Read More at: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/05/...