Middle Eastern-inspired Fashion Pushes Buttons

by Kristin Young (RSS feed)
Jul 16th 2009 at 9:00AM

Even as the great veil debate raged on this month in France - President Nicolas Sarkozy supports a ban on Muslim women wearing them in public- Paris couturiers paraded all manner of burqas, abayas and niqabs. Now that the shows have ended, we're left with more questions than answers.

Were designers stating they were for or against the ban? Do they endorse freedom of religious expression or were they speaking out against the oppression of women? Besotted with so many images of the controversial garment in the news recently, perhaps they were simply inspired to put a piece or two on the catwalks. Or, were they out to get press?

"When I ask designers questions like these, they always look confused," says David Wolfe, creative director of The Doneger Group, whose job is to predict trends for fashion professionals. "They operate so much from their gut. Whatever the media focuses on, the sensitive designers pick up the vibe, whether consciously or subconsciously. Fashion is an endless drug and designers look for the new high-anything that hasn't been seen or worked to death."

Givenchy, in particular, took the Middle Eastern route sending out models elbow-deep in gold cuffs and weighed down in heavy veils of ornate gold jewelry. The collection also featured billowing harem pants paired with sharp-shouldered blazers. Evening gowns were embroidered and topped with crowns of metal thorns, hard to miss the religious commentary there.

Gallery: Middle Eastern-inspired Fashion

With or without the veil debate, the fashion world has already been pointing to the East and the Middle East. Celebrities and fashionable women from London to Los Angeles have been stepping out in harem pants for the better part of this year. The trend is so pervasive, even mainstream retailers like Urban Outfitters carried versions.

When American designers were working on their spring collections last year, presidential debates were heating up in the U.S. and there was much talk about the war in Iraq. To the fashion community seeing these same media images, Ralph Lauren's spring 2009 collection of djellabas, turbans and black veils felt perfectly timed.

Still, the irony that Western women could soon be slapping down the Amex for Givenchy-designed gold veils at a time when the Islam world and secular governments wrangle over the burqa's meaning is striking.

Some Muslim women will rebel against the French government by refusing to remove their veils.

Other women will continue to suffer because of religion-imposed dress codes. Just this week the AP reports: In the Sudan that enforces strict Islamic law, police arrested 13 women and flogged 10 of them in public for wearing trousers.

Is being forced to wear something just as bad as not being allowed to wear something and how does Western fashion play a role? Please tell us what you think.

Tags: abaya, burqa, Givency, niqab, Parish Fashion Week Haute Couture, ParishFashionWeekHauteCouture, Ralph Lauren, RalphLauren, Sarkozy

Filed under: The Fashion Statement

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

BRAVEHEART Jul 26th 2009 6:14PM

Follow me on twitter @tony_gambino

michaelvs22 Jul 26th 2009 6:16PM

Most designers are faggots. To ask them anything serious involving religion, politics, economics, or the history of any of the above is the equivalent of asking them about the genome code. Not one of their fashionable little designs will ever be found in any of the muslim's God-forsaken countries. And if a woman dared to wear the item photographed above, she would either be stoned or beheaded after she was raped by the usual enforcers of morals and public order. The jewelry would also be divided up pretty quick; most middle eastern types are thieves as we all know. In addition to being faggots and idiots, most of these designers are also blasphemous every chance they get. I heard business is down.

kasthebest2001 Jul 26th 2009 6:16PM

As a woman who converted to Islam over 25 years ago, I have seen the hijab, or covering, for Muslim women represented in various degrees throughout the Islamic community. In the U.S. the Muslim women I know cover because of the faith in their hearts, and not because they are forced by male family members, or clerics. I feel that we are more liberated than some American women, who are mindlessly dressed by fashion designers dictating what they should wear and when they should wear it. In my opinion Nicolas Sarkozy is no different than any male fashion designer, or other male who thinks he has the right to determine whether a woman should reveal or conceal her face, arms, legs, breasts, or whatever body part he has in mind. Perhaps the designers were using the runways to politcally support, or reject Sarkozy's ban in France. Either way I think they are less altruistic and more concerned about their bottom line.

shoefro Jul 17th 2009 9:38PM

Fashion is a reflection of Socio-Economic trends. Fashion has always been influenced by those things that scare us. I wrote an article to the Ideas section of the Boston Globe in 7/07 describing the recent history of how China in the 60's, Japan Inc in the 70's and now radical Islam have scared us and hence influenced our fashions. 2007 introduced us to the Bhurqini, a bikini with attached head covering! This is a trend, not a fad so expect it to continue for up to 5 more years. Fashion can often be looked at as an assimilation of another culture occuring in three stages: 1)we eat like the target culture (which foodie among us hasn't used a Tangine or discovered cous-cous in the last three years?) 2)we decorate our house using the target cultures colors and materials 3) we dress like the culture.

thisisaleen Jul 18th 2009 4:40AM

MICHAELVS22: "MOST MIDDLE EASTERN TYPES ARE THIEVES AS WE ALL KNOW" ????????????????????????

WHAT ARE YOU A F****** Asshole?

Designer Store Jul 26th 2009 6:15PM

Nice post!

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