Studio Teh’s debut collection launches this week at Dubai Modest Fashion Week
It’s a no brainer. Dubai Modest Fashion Week is the prime time to launch a first collection if you are a label defined by the conservative fashion movement. No less, the time is amply good for Studio Teh to launch because the modest market is closing 2017 with a firm, here-to-stay stamp on the industry.
It’s not a fleeting trend – modest dressing is a movement.
Dolce & Gabbana‘s debut abaya collection was an intuitive move by the Italian house. It confirmed its global footing in the luxury mass market and sent out signals to its contemporaries that today’s customer wants to be understood, included, and catered for. Brands such as Caroline Herrera and Nike have followed suit with items specific to the growing Muslim market. While we have a roster of go-to brands (Chador, Nora Al Shaikh, Anatomi, Amal Al Raisi, to name but a few) that stem from the Middle East and answer the closet conundrums of women who choose to cover – be it in different degrees and for varying reasons – there’s space for more, and more diversity.
London Modest Fashion Week 2017. Courtesy of DMFW
Egyptian designer and founder of Studio Teh, Shaimaa El Nazer, is now based in the UAE and has chosen Dubai‘s debut Modest Fashion Week as the launch pad for her brand to enter the marketplace. Halima Aden will be fronting the fashion week event itself, bringing with her a gravitational pull of coverage from East and West. There are also plenty of watchful eyes on the front row and behind the scenes searching for labels that strike that clever balance between offering women cover but not neglecting her preference for elegance.
Halima Aden photographed by Greg Kadel for the June issue of Vogue Arabia
“This is a time of revolutionary change in the fashion industry,” El Nazer says. “We are all witnessing the incredible rise of modest fashion that reflects a movement towards inclusion, towards accepting our differences, and crossing the boundaries of fashion as we once knew it. Studio Teh tells a story. A story of origins, potentials, empowerment, and inspiration. It seeks to remind each and every one of us of our roots, our ambitions, and our uniqueness that make us all agents of change.”
The brand has joined the official schedule and will showcase its collection on December 9. El Nazer will send a line-up of dresses (cocktail and day), jumpsuits, and wardrobe staples down the runway, with an emphasis on feminine florals. Watch this space.
Related Read: The Vogue word on Dubai Modest Fashion Week
