ONLINE BLOGGERS PLAY BIG ROLE IN ISLAMIC FASHION

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By Jasmine Roziers

The booming of the internet in the early 1990s and the social media expansion in the early 2000s have truly cultivated a new culture of online users. The boom of the two have made the "small world" even smaller. This is no exception in the Islamic fashion industry. Social networks and apps such as Instagram, Youtube, Tumblr, Pinterest and more have blossomed the cultural aspect of Islamic fashion. Those sites and apps have conquered the Islamic fashion scene and have caused it more exposure. According to The Conversation, Branka Prodanovic reports that, "Last year Vogue reported that demands for designer fashion in Middle Eastern and Islamic regions have grown in the last few decades. This boom has given rise to Muslim fashion designers who create clothing especially designed to cater to a market of fashion-loving modest women." With this representation in the fashion world, as well as in the online media, the hijab is now not only seen as a "veil" of shame to oppress women, but more as a fashionable accessory to a modest and dignified culture.