Islam on the Catwalk: Marketing Veiling- Fashion in Turkey

Abstract

Ever since Tekbir Inc. displayed its products on the catwalk in a fashion show in 1992, what we call ‘veiling-fashion’ has been on the rise in Turkey. Veiling-fashion consists of ever-changing but always striking combinations of headscarves with skirts, pants, and coats in the season’s trendy colors, fabrics, and designs. Despite the harsh criticisms that target both the producers and consumers of these styles, veiling-fashion continues to expand and diversify. Today, about 200 companies specialize in the production of veiling-fashion. The largest market their products through fashion shows, glossy catalogues and advertisements. And they find a vibrant consumer base. How do companies market their products and employ visual and discursive strategies to seamlessly combine veiling and fashion? We examine the emergence and growth of veiling-fashion with a focus on its visual representations in fashion shows and catalogues. This analysis traces the aesthetic and functional expansion of the field. We argue that in catalogues and on the catwalk, prominent veiling-fashion companies construct an ideal image of the Muslim woman as cosmopolitan, trendy, beautiful, and of a certain class status. This multiple signification of veiling-fashion moves beyond the Islamic moral code as its only referent and brings into play a plurality of cultural, historical, and geographical references from the Ottoman past to contemporary destinations of global tourism in Europe. Veiling-fashion, thus, shifts the accepted boundaries of both religion and fashion.