By We knew this day would come. The day when you desperately need (yet another) new hijab to match the new top you just bought, and can’t wait five to seven business days, so you can just pop over to the mall and buy one from an Islamic boutique.
Now, in Florida’s Orlando Fashion Square Mall, you’ll be able to do just that. Today is the grand opening of Verona Collection, the grand opening a collection that–until now–was sold only online.
Three cheers for ditching shipping costs, which are the bane of every online shopper’s existence. Even more kudos that customers can see the designs in person, and try them on in store.
There are dozens of online Muslim women-wear stores: Think Austere Attire, Inayah Collection, and Vela Scarves. But today, the Verona Collection makes history as they make their transition from an online shop to a brick and mortar store.
Located in-between a Dillard’s and The Limited, it will be the first Islamic boutique to open in a mainstream American mall.
The Muslim fashion industry started out as–and used to exclusively be–an online world. The majority of what happened, happened online. Modest wear collections are sold online, and hijabi fashion bloggers reign on social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat.
With hijabi fashion bloggers present at New York Fashion Week, and now a Muslim boutique opening up in a mall, we’re seeing a shift in our inclusion in the fashion world moving from the virtual space to the physical front.
This move will be another milestone to encourage and inspire other Muslim entrepreneurs.
Fortune magazine called Muslim women “the next big untapped fashion market,” and they were right. While I love how design houses like DKNY and Dolce & Gabbanna are trying to cater to Muslim women, I love it even more when our own designers take advantage of this current market trend.
The success of this store has the power to catalyze a slew of brick and mortar Muslim fashion boutiques. Inayah Collection has toyed with this idea before, opening a pop up shop in London last month.
Will we see a rise of Islamic fashion stores world-wide?
Lisa Vogl is the founder of Verona Collection. As a revert to Islam in 2011, Vogl initially thought her aspirations in fashion conflicted with her religious beliefs, until she stumbled upon the booming world of Muslim apparel, she told the Orlando Sentinel.
She later opened Verona Collection, an online store that sells hijabs, dresses, and modest tops. Vogl and her partner, Nadine Abu-Jubara, are currently working on modest activewear.
The entrepreneur is also a photographer whose clientale includes Maher Zain, Islamic Relief, and the original hijabi blogger, Yaz the Spaz.
“It’s something that Muslim women need,” Vogl said. “We’re constantly trying to cover according to our religion, but yet we want to be fashionable.”
I can’t wait until the day people say, “Remember back when there were barely any Muslim fashion stores?”