INDONESIA: Modern Hijabs Turn Heads

By Lisa Siregar

For many Muslim women, the decision to wear a hijab comes from the desire to outwardly display their religiosity, while covering their bodies to protect an inner sense of modesty. The word “hijab” comes from the Arabic hajaba, which means to hide from view or conceal. The extent to which the body is covered by a hijab depends on religious interpretation, cultural background and personal choice.

In Indonesia, many Muslim women choose to cover their hair with a headscarf, also known as jilbab.

While the decision to wear a hijab can limit women’s options in terms of wardrobe, many young women in Jakarta have been experimenting with fashion options and ways of wearing their hijab with attitude.

Over the past year, many different styles have emerged among the city’s hijab-wearers, including cotton scarves and oversized headbands to accentuate the look. For many women, the symbolic headpiece has become a way to express both their beliefs and their styling abilities.

Hanna Faridl, 28, and Fifi Alvianto, 26, are the creators of Hijab-Scarf.com, which they claim is Indonesia’s first fashion blog dedicated to headscarves.

“Before we started the blog, we couldn’t find any magazines that suited our style,” Hanna said.

Seeing that publishing their own magazine could be a costly endeavour, Fifi suggested that they start out by writing their own blog.

The pair now works as a team to put together written content and photos for the online journal.

“We want to present the hijab in a modest but youthful way, to present it as something suitable for those living in an urban society,” Fifi said.

The bloggers also post interviews with famous hijabi, or hijab-wearing women and give video tutorials on how to wear different styles of hijab.

The lack of stylish alternatives available for Jakarta’s hijabis finally prompted Hanna, Fifi and their friend Anneke Scorpy, 29, to open a shop. Their store, Casa Elana, or Tree House, sells ready-to-wear fashion staples to create a modern hijab look, such as elastic head turbans, long scarves made from cotton, arm sleeves and headbands.

According to Fifi and Anneke, the key to a chic hijab look is layering. In Jakarta’s humid, tropical weather, materials such as pashmina are usually too thick for layering, so the fashionistas suggested choosing lighter materials, such as cotton.

“We actually don’t feel hot because we are used to [wearing a hijab], but our layered clothes make some people think that we suffer in the heat,” Fifi said.

Through Casa Elana, Hanna, Fifi and Anneke design basic items such as oversized cardigans and cotton scarves in bright colours.

During an interview with the Jakarta Globe, Anneke wore a loose cardigan with an attached scarf, layered with an under-piece covering the head and neck called Ninja.

“Many women stop me on the street because they are curious about how I wear this look,” Anneke said.

Seeing how the designers mix and match their staple items, it is clear that style and confidence are the key to successfully pulling off a chic hijab look.

Hijab-wearers like Nalia Rifika, a 24-year-old member of Jakarta’s Hijabers Community, have really appreciated the surge in creative hijab designs in Jakarta over the past year.

“Before, the usual way to wear a hijab was to use the Paris,” she said.

Paris is the name of a light headscarf material that is usually folded into a triangle and pinned under the chin, commonly worn with a shapeless dress, known as a gamis or abaya.

Today, loose-fitting clothing comes in a greater variety of styles, including harem pants and wide-legged trousers.

Nalia likes to pair her harem pants with a loose tank top, jersey cardigan and a skinny leather belt.

While new ways to wear the hijab are constantly being discovered, Nalia and the other members of the Hijabers Community are also seeking ways to strengthen their religiosity.

The group’s most recent gathering in Jakarta brought together Muslim speakers and entertainers to talk about inner beauty, as well as Islamic marriage and parenting, as 90 percent of the community’s members are married.

Established in November last year as a group for young Muslim women to discuss women’s issues, including hijab fashion, the Hijabers Community gained 1,500 followers on Twitter on its first day, thanks to endorsement from celebrities such as Marshanda and Zaskia Adya Mecca.

“Women come to us to learn how to wear a hijab,” Nalia said. “Even for us, we like to remind each other to cover up properly.”

She said members will sometimes remind each other to wear a longer scarf to cover their chest and bosom.

Even though they have become quite popular among hijabi women, HijabScarf and the Hijabers Community have also received criticism for their stylish, yet modest, look.

“Some people say we are just socialites who will only wear branded items and only think about our looks,” Nalia said, adding that many of the community’s members dress fashionably because they work as online shop-owners or designers.

But Fifi said she is undeterred by the criticism. “We will just take criticism as a difference of opinion,” she said.