To raise awareness .. American Museum sheds light on Islamic fashion

Marwa Sabri - San Francisco

Fashion, fashion, beauty ... and others, words in Arabic lines The facade of the De-Young Glass Museum is designed to challenge the politicized portrayal of the image of Muslim women in the media. Any Muslim moves to an unfamiliarity within the alien, This exhibition is not like any other exhibition.

The tightening of the veiled women since September 11, 2001, and the image of the police forcing a Muslim woman on the shores of France to remove the "Burkini", the arrival of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States and the accompanying tightening of Muslims; San Francisco, California, opened a special ward for veiled clothes on September 26.

The hijab is well known but its forms vary in different cultures. Therefore, every woman wears what suits her and approves her taste, personality and repetition. This has added diversity and beauty to the exhibition, and its wings have been decorated with costumes and artistic images representing different Islamic regions and events.

Rich diversity
The dress was not only limited to veils, but the creativity of 83 designers and artists in various clothing and fashion, including practical everyday clothes, wedding dresses, embroidered events and sportswear, even the "Burkini" bathing suit, which was the first Lebanese invention of the invention of 2003, A screen showing the news of forcing Muslims in Nice to take it off.

On the walls were the "Mashrabiyat" - wooden Islamic decorations covering the windows - and screens displaying pictures and encounters of Muslims in various fields, including the joy of Muhammad, the first Muslim veiled participating in the name of the United States at the Olympics in the game of dueling in the shish, and a woman wearing a veil of America's flag was a symbol of women's march In March 2016 against Trump after he took office.

"The spotlight on contemporary Islamic designs is delayed and there is an urgent need to discover them, which is a multi-faceted subject, yet it has not been presented to him," said Max Hollin, former director of the museum, It will shed light on a broad political, social and cultural space that shows what we understand and misunderstand. "

Photos defy the familiar
Some of the most controversial are photographs of Moroccan artist Hassan Hajjaj depicting three veiled women wearing world-famous motorcycles, and another with a Chanel vase by Hossam El-Badri.

Aisha Rajiuddin, a Sri Lankan fashion designer who visited the exhibition, said: "I felt that the pictured veils did not represent reality, but rather their appearance only to the picture. It is nice to have an exhibition like this that my daughter took to see a bigger picture than she sees in her surroundings."

While the Pakistani-American lawyer Munira Shamim, that "the veil is supposed to manage the adornment, but with all the events that occur around us, it seemed to me such an exhibition to bring happiness."

Increased awareness
The pavilion was designed to reflect the diverse Islamic culture. The museum used a silk company founded by the sisters Erinita-Guissio and Mojhan Silki in New York City. The participation of designers such as Nike and Kotor and others from Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Turkey Iran, Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as Western Muslim designers from America, France and England.

"Fashion is best when it meets the needs of society and reflects its social and political currents," says wing supervisor Jill D'Alessandro.

Chinese American Michelle Lee, who converted to Islam 20 years ago, says it is "nice to see an exhibition like this in America that increases awareness, especially with attacks on headscarves here and in Muslim countries."

"The contrast in fashion reflects the Muslim communities here and in the whole world," recalls her 11-year-old daughter Maryam. "The exhibition warms the heart. It's nice that they finally noticed Muslims. "

Alongside the idea of ​​the exhibition, which received a positive response from the Americans, it brought another message rich in meaning, albeit unintentional, as it appeared that these different colors and different tastes and different cultures;