Interview with Ms Alia Khan, Director at Islamic Fashion and Design Council
1- First of all please let us know about IFDC history and it’s success story in islamic fashion sector.
I founded IFDC almost like eleven years ago. The whole idea was to do something to support and develop the Islamic fashion and textile sector. The strongest demand, which was Islamic Fashion and design arts, which could also be interiors and architecture and so on and so forth. So it was more of a lifestyle play and it’s something that’s been demanded since the beginning of time because we know that modest fashion has been around and it’s not a new thing, it’s not a passing fancy, it’s not a trend.
So really we needed to establish a way to really keep the structure and to help to develop and grow the industry and the industry players. And that was my whole angle and my whole vision with the platform.
So the organization has been around for a long time. We’ve partnered with, as you probably know, fashion weeks and retailers and brands and consumer groups and media from all over the world.
And it’s really helped to put the modest fashion consumer, this audience, at the forefront of the stakeholders sort of direction. And I think what that’s done is that’s really built an importance on the the Muslim profile, you know, so it’s built a respect that we need to target this audience. We need to respect what their demands are,We need to respect their values, and, We need to put it in our products so that we can cater to them and they can become our clients.
So we really put a lot of effort into building not only the value proposition, allowing people to understand why this.
Audience in this market is a very strong one and why it’s a repeat.
Customer, if you will, because obviously they’re not doing it as a passing fancy. So if they find brands that they like, they will become a loyal consumer to it and vice versa. The brands that are catering to this audience understand and respect the views and the faith based values and this is what’s driving them to develop the amazing offerings that they’re developing. So that’s in a nutshell, it Please ask me if you have any other questions. I’ll answer your next question in the next voice note.
2- What is IFDC vision, mission and main activities?
So the second question I think I’ve pretty much answered, and the third question: I would really direct you towards valuable resources, like you’ve got Bloomberg, you’ve got Thomson riders, you’ve got, you know, the Global Stomic Economy reports. You’ve got a lot of Halal Journals. I mean really you’ll find no shortage to find this kind of information.
But the names that I just gave you: please start there. I think you you’ll find a wealth of information, but then you’ve also got a lot of independent journalists and a lot of independent researchers that are always writing about this, this sector. So so please delve into it, because it can be a deep dive and very.
4- At first glance, it seems that religion and fashion cannot be combined in Muslim women’s clothes. But there are many Counterexample for this issue. How creative design can make Muslim women’s clothes beautiful and in sync with fashion?
It was never a problem. You know we could even find, say, like a short sleeved tunic and we would put something underneath it as a layer and dress ourselves up and put a shawl around us. It would be a long sleeve layer underneath. So we’ve always managed to be stylish whilst fitting within the guidelines. So there’s a lot to be said about our sense of style, people in the modest fashion space, consumers that.
Are here for faith-based reason. They do it because they appreciate beauty whilst they want to please their creator and they want to live by their faith-based values. So there’s there’s a lot of options, and those options can also be used in a way that can fit the guy lines that that we live by. So that’s the beauty about fashion there. There’s no, you know, lack of of choice out there. That’s what’s.
5- What are the unique features of islamic fashion and Muslim women’s fashionable cloth?
Guidelines are very simple and there need not be anything more complicated about it. You basically just cover your arms, you cover your legs, you don’t show midriff, no low neck, no low back, you don’t show inappropriately and you don’t let it be tight and of course, see through fabric.
Those are the simple basic guidelines. Anything beyond that. You can do whatever you want. as Dress, you can wear a jacket, you can wear a sweater with trousers or with jeans, so you need not limit your.
Beyond what the actual rules are, and the rules are very simple and very straightforward, so, which means that you really have a wonderful playground to do whatever you wish, as you wish and be as stylish as you want as long as you’re not showing those areas. And so that’s what makes it fun, because we can be just as creative and we can be just as stylish and just as fashionable as our mainstream fashion counterparts.
So we don’t look any less elegant. In fact, many people argue that modest fashion is more beautiful and more elegant and more classy, and and it gives this woman an inherent dignity when she dresses modesty, modestly, and that is true.
6- There are many young designer interested in start working in islamic fashion sector, what is your suggestions for them?
Your question next one is that there are many young designers interested in working in islamic fashion, and what are your suggestions inherently believe, the number one thing you need to understand to make it in any business is digital marketing.
No matter how great of a designer you are, if you can’t get your designs in front of people and through technology, because nowadays it’s more about technology and getting it in front of millions of eyes rather than just dozens of them, say, through your local community fashion show or even like a fashion week which has thousands of eyes, if you can digitally market yourself and understand digital marketing, that is the number one step to your success in business. So don’t underestimate the value of knowledge in marketing digital marketing.
That is a very key skill set that we must all give ourselves in every sector. If I’m in halal food, if I’m a writer, if I’m an interior designer or an architect, I must understand how to digitally market myself in order for myself to realize that level of.
7- How do you evaluate global islamic fashion sector in general?
It’s beyond valuable. As I said, if you can win this audience over, you’ve got a loyal customer because they’re committed to do.
Dressing for a lifetime, Islamic fashion and it’s not a trend, even in summer and winter muslim womens should cover and dress as whome body, it’s not happening this season and gone next season. They’ve done it for a higher purpose. They’ve done it because they are living by the values that were mandated upon them, are instilled upon them by God, and so that is a serious business and they take it seriously and it’s a lifelong commitment.
So if anyone comes into this fashion market and really captivates the modest fashion audience and they start, you know, really preciating their work, then you can likely have a repeat customer. You can have a client for life, and that’s a very valuable type of client. So let us not underestimate the value of the islamic fashion market and its consumer base.
8- Sustainability and recycling is an important subject for all industries like textile manufacturers all around the world, How IFDC help to manufacturers to design a better sustainability roadmap?
you’re talking about how to design better through sustainability and recycling. I would say that is a part of our value system. In Islam relegion you can’t have waste and be a good, practicing Muslim. That’s I think the first step that I would take is impress upon, and I think they. They embrace this thought. Anyway, I don’t think I have to convince anybody in the industry that keeping things waste free or low, negative impact on on humanity, is the way to go.
That is our ethic system, that is our value system anyway. So now it’s a matter of sourcing, it’s a matter of going to the right areas to make sure that you understand it’s. It’s a matter of giving yourself the knowledge, it’s a matter of giving yourself the education, which is all learning curves that are easy, nothing difficult.
You can go to the right websites, you can go to the right speaker, you can go to the right resources and and understand how to develop your business, how to be a designer and impact the least amount of waste as.
That’s the name of the game, I would say for everybody: if you’re a man, you want to run a house where your kids waste the least amount as possible. Make sure you shut off the lights, make sure you turn off the water, aren’t wasting the toothpaste. You know this should be a natural way. We should all think it shouldn’t even have to be something that that is brought to our attention.
It should just be naturally how we are raised as Muslims. So and if we haven’t been raised like that as Muslims and we still call ourselves Muslims, then we have some work to do. We need to fix that part of ourselves. We need to give ourselves that awareness of not wasting before we move forward in any aspect of our.
