D&G launches abaya collection

Luxury Italian fashion house D&G has joined the small but fast growing ranks of global fashion brand targeting Muslim women.

D&G Abaya 1With Muslim women spending $266 billion on clothing and shoes, and expected to reach $484 billion by 2019, according to a Thomson Reuters report, Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has launched its first abaya collection.

While the new range has initially been launched in the UAE, it will likely to attract considerable interest in parts of Asia, especially Malaysia and Indonesia, with huge Islamic populations.

D&G Abaya

Revealed on Style.com/Arabia, the collection mainly features neutral tones, with some capturing the Sicilian spirit of the house in the style of its spring 2016 collection. The abayas and hijabs are in sheer georgette and satin weave charmeuse fabrics with lace hems.

Other companies, meanwhile, are starting to realise the potential of the Muslim market, such as DKNY and Tommy Hilfiger.

Net-a-Porter has a Ramadan editorial feature on its website, while Moda Operandi also features a collection online.

D&G Abaya 3

Steffano Gabbana, half of the design duo of Dolce & Gabbana, used Instagram to reveal the company’s first hijab collection, which offers modest options for Muslim women who wish to cover their hair under a hijab (head scarf) or bodies under an abaya (cloak-like dress).

Meanwhile, at the other end of the fashion brand spectrum, a Uniqlo modest-wear range designed in partnership with UK designer and blogger Hana Tajima has been launched in Malaysia and Singapore. It is available at Uniqlo’s 313@Somerset store on Singapore’s Orchard Road, and online.

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