Contemporary Muslim Fashions at San Francisco’s de Young museum is said to be the first major exhibit exploring Islamic culture within a fashion context. The show runs through Jan. 6 and, according to the New York Times, has received “largely appreciative reviews.”
“We wanted to share what we’ve been seeing in Muslim fashion with the larger world in a way that could create a deeper understanding,” says former museum curator Max Hollein (who’s now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York). “Museums are one of the few places where you can have a deep and non-polemic debate about the intersection of cultures.”
During the development of the exhibit, curators brought on consultants from Islamic centers, universities and mosques. Bay Area fashion stylist Saba Ali says she remembers a debate early on with “some people saying there’s no such thing as Islamic fashion, since the faith says you should not be ostentatious.” She added that she doesn’t see it that way “because Muslim women in different parts of the world have different ways of expressing their faith. But the curators were very gracious in making sure all feedback was considered.”
Reina Lewis, a scholar and leading expert on modest fashion, also helped curate the exhibition and offered that there were many opinions to be held on the topic. “Some people say if you’re dressing modestly, it’s not modest enough. Other Muslim women might say, ‘Allah loves beauty, it’s part of my religious practice to dress smartly and aesthetically.’ ”
Indonesian designers Dian Pelangi, who has nearly five million Instagram followers, makes the point: “Some people say the hijab is a tool of oppression but the right platform like this one can show that it’s not all dark and black. A hijab can also be expressive, a way of showing who we are without needing to speak.”
