Last week, Welsh-born Haifa Shamsan, 25 and Mehvish Khan, 24, held a catwalk show at the Butetown Community Centre, in their home city Cardiff, with the aim of bringing fashion-forward designs to Muslim women – something they believe is very much fulfilling a gap in the market.
Patterns like polka dots and tartan were reworked into clothes which adhered to the traditional Islamic dress code.
So what was Haifa’s motivation in starting the line? ‘I don’t have a background in fashion, I’ve just always been interested from a young age – ever since I got a toy sewing machine, aged eight!’ Haifa explains to The Debrief, from her home in Cardiff.
Things changed when she gave birth to her daughter last year and worked part-time, as a caretaker. ‘A friend of mine rang me to tell me about a fashion contest run by [marketing group] The Arabs Group in August last year. I entered and even though I didn’t win, I had a fair bit of publicity and this became my main job. I do the designing and my mum, a professional seamstress, does the sewing.’
While Haifa lives in Cardiff, her co-designer Mehvish lives in Saudi Arabia and the childhood friends put on the catwalk show while Mehvish was home visiting family. ‘Mehvish moved to Saudi last year, when she got married – but we thought we’d put on a show together, when she came home.
‘We have different approaches, though. I love traditional Yemeni clothing but I live in western clothes – jeans and T-shirts. I design ethnic clothes with western patterns, like a tartan suit [with the traditional hijab].’
Mehvish's designs are ‘more Arabian’, Hafia explains. ‘She is Pakastani and has her own traditional dress, which she wears in the UK, but in Saudi she wears the traditional Islamic wear [a black burqua]. Her designs are Arabian, though – colourful embellished kaftans which she wears when she visits female friends at home.’
While Mehvish is now selling her wares back in Saudi, Hafia takes orders via email and her Facebook page (a website is in the offing, once funding has been secured.) A hand-made tartan suit will set you back a mere £80-£90 and she takes bespoke orders, too.
‘I’d love to have my own boutique which would appeal to both the east and the west,’ says Haifa. ‘I think it’s important as a fashion designer.’
You can contact Haifa at maysmode@gmail.com, find her on Facebook at
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.