In only two seasons, the Muslim designer Anniesa Hasibuan, from Indonesia, has made her mark with the hijab trademark, and covered New York fashion week’s catwalk this week by styling it with flowing, iridescent gowns fit for a princess.
Other than the hijab, the traditional head and neck covering that many Muslim women wear, the 30-year-old designer’s collection brought about nothing of the “modest Muslim” style that mostly stirs controversy and exacerbates anti-Muslim sentiment in western countries.
On the contrary, Hasibuan’s collection features the shining, on-trend pleats, silver and golden ruffles, and long trains ambellished with pearls, glitter or embroidery that showed royalty of the Middle Ages.
In fact, the models were not selected at random — the talented designer held casting auditions specifically seeking first and second-generation immigrants, looking to show that “fashion is for everybody.”
“There is beauty in diversity and differences — something we should not be afraid of,” she told while speaking through an interpreter.
“I believe being a fashion designer can bring a lot of changes — and beautiful changes, of course.”
