Can Modesty and Modeling Mix? Enter New Muslim Modeling Agency, Underwraps
Modeling
and modesty are two words that seem mutually exclusive, but a Muslim
fashion designer in New York City is trying to change that. A new
agency for Muslim models, called Underwraps,
is launching next week during New York Fashion Week. Its goal? To prove
that models can be gorgeous, stylish, and yet still maintain their
religious beliefs.
Nailah Lymus is an American-born Muslim whose parents converted to Islam before she was born. She adheres to the modesty tenets of the religion, which require that clothes be loose enough so as not to reveal your shape, and that basically the only body parts that can be visible are your face, hands and feet. Sound challenging? It doesn’t have to be. I chatted with Lymus this week about her background, Muslims in fashion, and her plans to launch a modeling agency.
Lymus is a self-taught designer who originally studied child development. While interning at a boutique, she ended up designing and selling some pieces there, and what was once a hobby suddenly got lucrative. She’s since made it a full time profession, and has turned her eye towards models. Specifically, Muslim models.
There historically haven’t been many well-known Muslim models in western fashion, but that may be changing. Lancôme just signed its first ever Muslim model, Hanaa Ben Abdesslem, who’s Tunisian. Abdesslem broke into the mainstream after debuting on Vivienne Westwood’s runway, and is signed with IMG. Abdesslem doesn’t have her head covered in photographs, and doesn’t seem to be adhering—at least in her professional life—to modesty standards, and Lymus acknowledged that it has to be that way to get recognition right now.
Underwraps' founder Nailah Lymus
To that end, she’s starting Underwraps as an agency for girls who are committed to maintaining modesty standards in their dress, but hope to work with mainstream designers. That’s Lymus’ long-term goal. “We take things seriously and are professional just like other models. During fashion week I’ll be sending them out to castings just like anyone else,” she told me.
Right now Underwraps has four girls in development, who aren’t officially signed yet. She’ll bring them to industry events during fashion week and let them get a taste of the attention. Besides having a “look”, Lymus believes that the girls have to have strong personalites and be able to handle the pressures of the industry, and also the misconceptions. Especially since 9/11, there’s a lot of misunderstanding about Islam and its expectations of women. Lymus hopes to shatter the more common ones—like that women can’t work or that they have to wear full abayas.
Could an agency like this succeed? It would take a special girl, and an open-minded designer to make it happen. While runways featuring lots of bare skin tend to get attention, there are many designers who could theoretically use Muslim models. Haider Ackermann’s spring show, which featured layered looks and even veils, is one that comes to mind. Regardless of whether or not Underwraps is successful, we love that agencies featuring non-traditional models are trying to make a go of it.
Photos: AK Photography
UNDERWRAPS is the FIRST global agency representing the Muslim Female Fashion Model.
A seasoned roster, each model brings a modest, genuine, smart, savvy, professional attitude, combined with an ethical sensibility that makes "it work".
Muslim Fashion has had an influence in the industry for years—with stylings gracing the covers of magazines such as Vogue; to recent model successes Hanaa Ben Abdesslem (Tunisian) and Hindi Sahlial (Moroccan) who bring diversity to the catwalk. Islam has also provided inspiration for noteworthy designers including Victoria Beckham (for her Fall/Winter 2012 line).
UNDERWRAPS is creating a fusion of Inclusion—creating the best of both worlds.
I love these pics and wish more people would go back to being modest. Especially after seeing the Sports Illustrated cover that was put up in another thread. These are beautiful women and aren't sacrificing fashion in order to be modest.
I love the shoes in the last pic!!! and I love these pics!
Still, to sound like an old hag, please fashion world, no matter if your religious or secular, don't push those "heels" on us.
I think it's great!
So much of what I see in fashion in North America in magazines, or America's Next top Model for example has so little to do with clothes sometimes I wonder what it is they are actually modelling, and whether they are just trying to take interesting photographs. I like the first picture the best.
Agreed. In fact, those shoes make me WANT to dress up like Punky Brewster for Halloween. :D (Someone said I needed mismatched shoes to accomplish that.)
*runs off to find cool shoes.*
Quoting Sekirei:
I love the shoes in the last pic!!! and I love these pics!
Yeah...absolutely. Most of the muslims i know want to look stylish just like most people. I'm pretty sure the only difference between Muslims and other people is religion.
Another article.
First Muslim Model Agency Opens in New York
The launch of the world's first Muslim model agency, in New York's fashionable Tribeca district, offered an interesting alternative to the options presented at New York Fashion Week a few blocks uptown. A coming-together of a particularly stylish segment of the Islamic community in this cosmopolitan city, the event on Saturday night played host to everyone from a fully veiled woman in black abaya to dramatically coiffed fashionistas (and fashionistos) curious about a groundbreaking project.
The founder of the Underwraps agency, Nailah Lymus, is a born-and-bred New York Muslim with a love of fashion and a mission to prove Islam's worth and tolerance to a city whose inhabitants remain, in many cases, emotionally fragile and somewhat suspicious of Islam more than a decade after the tragic September 11 terrorist attacks.
"It's just always been about contradicting a lot of the negative stereotypes and misunderstandings about Muslims and our religion, as well as about Muslim females; there's a whole lot of other negative stereotypes that go with that," says Lymas at the launch, in the Rare salon on Church Street. "We can walk on the runway, we can wear colours, we can do things independently of our husbands ... It breaks down so many misunderstandings, even regarding nationalities of Muslim women; it's a religion that's international."
In fact, arguably, much of the fashion that has been shown so far in New York for autumn/winter 2012 would be perfectly at home on a Muslim model, with hats, high necks and long sleeves all crucial trends. One guest at the event, Ismail Sayeed, a Harlem-born blogger and artist otherwise known as The Calligrafist, argues: "Those things are incorporated into western fashion. People who are not Muslim can cover and still be fashionable. If you look at the runway a lot of models are covered, and designers especially play with veils."
The owner of Rare, Fatima Sheikh, agrees. "When I met Nailah, I didn't even realise she was wearing hijab. It just looked so hot that I was like, I love what you've got going on!"
Sheikh runs a monthly "hijab night", during which she blocks off the windows on the premises, allowing local Muslim women to enjoy the benefits of a beauty salon in the privacy required by their beliefs. A practising Muslim herself, she was attracted to Lymus's project from the start, and was happy to offer her salon for the buzzy event.
"We met and everything she was talking about, the femininity and mysteriousness, that there's more to being feminine than being naked all the time, I agreed with. Anything I can do to help out each other [in Muslim fashion] I'm down to do."
Judging by the eclectic crowd that gathered on Saturday night, there are plenty of people with the same approach: some were there out of curiosity, some were bloggers looking for the next big story and many were Muslim fashionistas wanting to be part of a bigger movement.
Mohammed Shariff, a New York-based fashion and entertainment lawyer, was there to support his fellow New York Muslims, but he also saw a business opportunity. This was, he thought, just the tip of a future iceberg. "When I saw this I thought it was a perfect fit for Muslims and non-Muslims who don't want to be so revealing. I know we're going to start catering for this international market in America, whether it's at Neiman Marcus or JC Penney," he argues. "It's happening."
Shariff also points out the issue that has been troubling for so many of those who would like to be Muslim models - and those who would employ them. "I work with models and modelling agencies," he says. "I do see Muslims in modelling agencies who suffer from the assignments; they feel that they compromise who they are for it."
Sayeed has a similar experience. "I personally know many Muslims who want to model but they don't want to take anything off; they want to stay within their faith. People have their different views on it, but if you look around the world, Muslims dress differently. Culture plays a big part in how Muslims dress."
It's nevertheless a thorny issue for Lymus, who inevitably finds herself "representing" the Muslim world in fashion. How has she dealt with the doctrinal and religious issues?
"I've spoken to two imams, and they seemed to be supportive of it as long as I'm representing the religion properly, once I explained the direction I'm going in, which is really to bring awareness to a fashion forum. The models know that I'm devout in my religion." Still, if, as she suggests, the agency does start to cater for an international market ("I would love for my girls to walk Lincoln Centre during New York Fashion Week"), there are going to be some serious backstage issues, in a world in which it is completely normal for models to change in front of a whole room of men and women.
"Our contracts are really detailed, to make sure everything is understood," she says. "I'm even in the process of designing a portable fitting room for the individual model, because we can't have men dressing us, and I don't want it to be a burden or inconvenience to designers who might want to use our models."
Whether the madness that occurs backstage at a mainstream fashion show will support such measures remains to be seen.
By Gemma Champ
Copyrights © 2012 Abu Dhabi Media Company, All rights reserved.
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