Moslem dress can still be fashionable, designer says
Moslem dress can still be fashionable, designer says
JAKARTA (JP): Despite a strict dress code for women, Islam can still be fashionable, designer Sitoresmi Syukri Fudholi said yesterday.
The religion does not forbid adding a touch of fashion to the garments worn by Moslem women, Sitoresmi told a seminar on Moslem fashion, held as part of the ongoing Istiqlal Festival of Islamic Culture and Arts.
She said fashion was fine, provided it did not go against Islamic teachings.
These teachings require women to cover the aurat, which are parts of the body other than the palms or the face. They are allowed to display the rest of their beauty only to their husbands and fathers.
Islam forbids women to tabaruj, or to excessively attract the attention of others through appearance.
"Islamic principles in Moslem fashion are intended to bring women a respected status," said Sitoresmi.
Within these boundaries, there are unlimited possibilities that fashion designers could use in creating and producing garb for Moslem women.
Sitoresmi said designers have to take into account the fashion trends, including style and color, suitable to the characters of Moslem women. They also must have a thorough understanding of Islam before creating their designs.
Sitoresmi is one of several local designers who have tapped the potentials of the Moslem garment business, now a growing segment of the country's fashion industry.
Some of the top designers are catering for the upper market, with dresses priced from Rp 400,000 ($175) to 10 times as much. It is now common to find Moslem fashion shows at Jakarta's five- star hotels, often attended by members of society's elite.
Sitoresmi acknowledged that Moslem fashion has become a profitable business.
Moslem fashion first came into its own as an acknowledged fashion discipline in Indonesia in the late 1970s. At the vanguard of the movement to bring it into the public eye was Ida Royani, a famous Indonesian singer and actress.
Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, President Soeharto's eldest daughter and a leading businesswoman and social activist, is credited with putting the stamp of respectability on the fashion trend by never appearing in public without her kerudung (scarf), ever since she returned from the pilgrimage to Mecca in the late 1980s.
Other speakers at the seminar were Director General of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Andi Mappi Sammeng, traditional treatment expert, Hembing Widjayakusumah and Zahra Nabavi, a scholar from Iran.
Zahra Nabavi said that, in Iran, Moslem fashion has become a symbol of women's social behavior in society.
"Despite all biased arguments that use Islamic code of dress as an obstacle for women's social activities, Iranian women, inspired with Islamic teachings, have been able to prove their abilities in society, while safeguarding their religious norms," Nabavi said. (31)