At Paris Modest Fashion Week last month, influencers, buyers and journalists crowded into the historic halls of Hotel La Marois as models prepared to emerge onto the runway in embellished satin tailoring, corseted silhouettes and full-coverage eveningwear.One model stomped through the hotel’s gilded salons dressed in a denim maxi dress with cargo pockets, paired with a matching cropped jacket, Far more unexpected than denim on the catwalk, however, was the black crochet balaclava, adorned with dramatic, oversized crystals, that covered her head and most of her face. It was French label Soutoura’s streetwear take on the niqab — a symbol that has been banned in France since 2010.The country’s fraught relationship with visible expressions of Muslim identity makes it a meaningful, if not ironic, destination for the latest instalment of Modest Fashion Week, which is organised by Think Fashion and has previously held events in cities like Jakarta, Istanbul, Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam.“Bringing it to Paris was a natural step in positioning modesty within the global fashion dialogue,” says Think Fashion CEO, Ozlem Sahin. “It’s also a statement that the industry has reached a level of maturity, where it can be presented at prestigious venues on the Champs-Elysees, with top model agencies, leading …
