Modest fashion steps onto the high street

“I know I’m not the only one that struggles with finding items that can be deemed modest, brands acknowledging the issue makes a difference and means a lot.”

The search for modest fashion into online search engines has gone up by 500% since last year according to Pinterest. 

Brands such as ASOS, H&M and M&S have all released modest collections this autumn, to make shopping easier for girls and women who want to be on-trend but still dress comfortably. 

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The modest fashion market is worth hundreds of billions of pounds and is set to increase within the next couple of years. 

Modest fashion has been an area of growing interest within the fashion industry, with a number of designer and high street stores jumping on the trend to make fashion accessible to all. 

Clothing that was once deemed to be less trendy or too conservative is now the must have piece for all fashionistas. 

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Fatima Patel, 23 an Instagram fashion blogger said: “I love the fact that brands are taking inclusivity to the next level.

“I know I’m not the only one that struggles with finding items that can be deemed modest, brands acknowledging the issue makes a difference and means a lot.”

With the term modesty not having a strict definition, it is open to interpretation but relates largely to clothing which helps to cover up, for example, dresses with higher necklines and lower hemlines. 

The growth in modest clothing highlights the age-old statement that when you feel confident in what you are wearing, your potential is limitless. 

The key thing to remember though is that even if the modest fashion movement started with religion at the heart of it, it is now about so much more. 

As clothing becomes more about individual comfort and less about pleasing other people, women are now adopting a stylish yet modest silhouette and feel empowered doing so. 

The marketing of modest fashion has not always been done effectively by brands as many women feel othered; creating a separate section for modest wear might come across as alienating for some consumers. 

The modest fashion movement has been picking up its pace for some years, as the fashion industry becomes more inclusive and diverse. 

As a large amount of its influence is now gained through social media platforms such as Instagram, there is a need, more than ever to appeal to every customer rather than a select few. 

Now, the fashion industry is becoming more inclusive and showing people of all different shapes, skin colours, religions and ethnicities, coming under a wider umbrella to celebrate their individuality and love for clothing. 

Women wearing hijabs are now making the cover of Vogue magazine and more ‘Hijabi influencers’ are taking the internet by storm, there is a valuable customer that the fashion market is ready to get its hands on. 

While most people are happy about the rise in high street and designer stores taking on modest clothing lines, some people argue that these brands are exploiting the people who want to dress modestly by raising the prices of essential pieces of clothing. 

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Tagging the word modest on to any item of clothing will up the value of the product as companies know just how big the market is for these products and know consumers will pay the price.

Humairaa Bhana, 23, Chemical Engineering graduate, said: “Many companies use this to ramp up the prices by titling it or sectioning it under ‘modest wear’, which is unfair because it becomes a burden on those trying to attain modesty when they have to dig deeper into their pockets just to dress how they want.”

Alongside the rise in modest fashion, there has been an increase in modest fitness wear.  Many women of all age ranges are put off the idea of the gym due to tight, revealing athletic wear; however, with more women stepping in that direction, a number of independent brands filled the gap in the market. 

Misbah Mogradia, the owner of Imaan Active, a modest activewear brand on Instagram, said: “There is a real demand in the market to increase the quality and choice of modest activewear and brands like Imaan Active are working to meet this demand.

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“I do think the lack the lack of choice of what to wear to the gym significantly impacts the amount of women who actually sign up.”

The growth in modest clothing highlights the age-old statement that when you feel confident in what you are wearing, your potential is limitless.