Muslim Fashion: Challenging Transregional Connectivities between Malaysia and the Arabian Peninsula

Abstract

In Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country in Southeast Asia, a dynamic market for Muslim fashion has evolved over the past decade, especially concerning the abaya, a female Muslim dress. Malay Malaysian designers, producers and consumers focus on this garment because it represents a style of female Islamic clothing that is perceived as ‘authentic’. The abaya originates from the Arabian Peninsula and is generally worn by Arabic Muslim women with a syariah-compliant design that is commonly simple, loose and opaque. Embedded into the broader marketising processes of a halal industry in Malaysia, Malay women started to adopt this material object and transformed it into a distinct expression of Malaysian Muslim style. The original abaya that follows Islamic rules became a colourful and decorated dress. This transformative process is not only an expression of variation in fashion and style but profoundly transcends powerful social, placial and spatial orders within the Muslim world. The Malaysian fashion market for abayas is embedded in wider dynamics of sacred landscaping in which the Arabian Peninsula is considered to be the ‘centre of Islam’ while Malaysia is positioned and positions itself at the margins. However, Malay Malaysian social actors have shifted this constellation towards a Malaysia that has pushed itself to the forefront of a commercialising Islam through the development of the related Muslim fashion market, among other things. Thus, within a Muslim world order, transregional connections lead to an entangled web of meaning-making regarding power structures, Islamic principles and social practices.

Sustainable Consumer Behavior: Bibliometric Analysis for Future Research Direction in Muslim Fashion Context

“…The co-occurrence analysis of author keywords in Table 9 provides valuable insights into the thematic clusters and relationships within the studied research domain. Sustainability emerges as a central and prevalent theme, forming Cluster 1, with the highest number of links (11) and total link strength (20). This indicates a strong association between sustainability and other keywords within the same cluster, such as circular economy, slow fashion, and fashion.…”

“…The growing market demand for Muslim Fashion underscores not only a desire among Muslim consumers for clothing that meets religious requirements but also reflects a broader interest in the global fashion landscape [11][12][13]. This trend, marked by its seamless integration of contemporary styles with Islamic modesty, serves as a testament to the dynamic intersection of cultural and religious influences in the ever-evolving world of fashion [12].…”

Muslim Fashion Development Strategy in the Ḥalāl Industry in Indonesia: Some Notes from the Quran and Hadith

“…This provides an opportunity for brands and designers to develop more premium or specialized product lines that can appeal to consumers with higher purchasing power. Countries with significant Muslim populations such as Malaysia, the Middle East and Western countries have large market potential for Muslim fashion products (Thimm, 2021). Expanding into these markets can open up new opportunities for business growth and increase brand visibility on a global level.…”

On the Road of Hijrah: Contesting Identity through Urban Mobilities in Contemporary Indonesian Muslims

“…Thus, their brands and products quickly took up the Indonesian Muslim fashion market (Triana, 2021). Their success relies on their creativity in designing Islamic clothing that is fashionable and in accordance with the tastes of urban Muslims (Thimm, 2021). Besides, it implies for them an effort to build a narrative and imagination of the Islamic resurgence through the economy, an intention which cannot be interpreted merely as the commodification of Islam.…”