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)