MSLM – the magazine

Photographed by Ari Versluis and designed by: Studio Beige

Years ago, I was a fashion student at the Rotterdam Art Academy. It was a great time and the courses they taught were wonderful. Analysing trends and predictions appealed the most to me. How did communal and even global tendencies convey into the way people would dress? What developments for the future can you foresee today? Fashion is a layered mechanism of endless codes and stories.

If fashion is the face of society, then ours has changed quite a bit over the past years. A group of young women, most of them second generation immigrants, Muslim and fashion conscious, is starting to become more visible. Their way of dress in which concealment plays an important part, made its mark on our Western culture and vice versa. Concealing and revealing have never been in such sharp contrast with each other. From traditions to trends, from the Middle East to the West.

Let’s get real. Every – Muslim – woman wants to be judged based on her character and skill. And now that we’re on the subject, I would like to state that we should abandon the idea that Muslim women have no sense of fashion and simply hide under a headscarf of burqa. My experience is that these girls are not victims of their religion, but wear exactly what they want and are very interested in fashion.

The difference lies in the rules, sometimes in extra clothing, an important role for tradition, appreciation for being a woman and pride. Their choices in what exactly they choose to show and what not, and how, that is our focal point.

There is not one uniform. Within this group there are so many varieties; in tying the headscarf, the colours, the prints, the traditional forms and the combinations. For each girl comes from a different background and extent of involvement with their religion. We can speak of a set of basic rules of adornment in which I find individual choices the most fascinating.

It is important and interesting to approach their Western, Dutch side. Because these girls grew up in the Netherlands as Dutch citizens, a clash -as well as a unification- developed not only between the fashion of the East and the West, but also among this group of Muslim women themselves. This entails new and interesting forms and silhouettes for Muslim and non-Muslim women.

Together with an editorial of five Muslim girls from various backgrounds, a long list of likeminded spirits and young talented creatives we made this magazine with love, without pretension and as an inspiration for young women, for Muslims. Medium, Small or Large, fashion affects everyone.

Peace and Salaam!

Natasa Heydra/ 2007

A little preview of the shoots in the magazine…

Photographed by Nadine, Suzanne Rensink and Miriam Madiol

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