Modesty in business, bold in fashion: entrepreneurial experiences of U.S. Muslim women in niche fashion markets

Abstract

Muslim modest fashion is experiencing unprecedented growth in the fashion industry, driven by young Muslim women consumers worldwide expressing interest in this market segment. Yet, few scholars have examined women entrepreneurs who created modest Islamic fashion brands and their experiences launching and sustaining their businesses, particularly how their intersectional identities inform their business practices and outcomes. Therefore, we asked, (1) Why and how did Muslim women entrepreneurs start their modest fashion brands? (2) What are their experiences starting and sustaining their modest fashion brands; and (3) How do agency, intersectionality, and oppression intersect with these women’s experiences? To understand the lived experiences of these entrepreneurs, we conducted oral histories with three Muslim women entrepreneurs. Following thematic analysis using open, axial, and selective coding, we identified numerous themes that help explain their entrepreneurial experiences. Overall, the women started their businesses to create the much-needed space for Muslim women in the fashion system as modest fashion was largely non-existent. The women started with a few products and largely one target market in mind, yet expanded to other religions that embody modesty values. In sustaining their businesses, the owners were highly controlling and involved in every aspect of their business. They expressed starting and sustaining their business was difficult due to their lack of experience, the time intensity of running their business, and difficulty in finding funding. Additionally, they had added layers of White supremacy in these experiences as women of color business owners. Yet, they expressed numerous successful strategies including centering the nuanced Muslim woman identity in product design and marketing. Their consumers expressed much ambivalence in that they loved and criticized the brands for various reasons. The entrepreneurs certainly focused their business on Muslim identities, but also had heightened awareness and attention to environmental justice given the state of the fashion system and its negative contributions to the environment. Overall, through this research, we demonstrate how these entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of starting and sustaining their niche businesses amidst the oppressive cultural environment for American Muslim women in a post-9/11 context within a capitalist framework. Individuals looking to develop businesses catering to marginalized communities can utilize our findings to educate themselves on oppressive environments they may encounter in the future and navigate the tightrope of criticism and love from marginalized consumers looking to buy their products.

Introduction

Modest Muslim fashion, or less revealing clothing worn to satisfy spiritual needs, has experienced unprecedented growth in the fashion industry, driven by young Muslim women worldwide and according to recent government reports, this global market is expected to grow by 33% from $270 billion in 2021 to $375 billion in 2025 (The Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre, 2022). Global, mainstream fashion retailers, such as Nike and Dolce and Gabbana, have responded to this growing demand by launching seasonal or capsule collections targeting Muslim women consumers (Solomon, 2019). There is also increased demand for modest fashion in the United States (Hwang & Kim, 2020) attributed to the growing buying power of American Muslims, which reached approximately $170 billion in 2010 (Hussain, 2014), and young American Muslim women seeking to assert their diverse Muslim identities through dress (Haddad, 2007; Watt, 2012). However, struggling to gain recognition from the mainstream fashion industry because of the Islamophobic sentiment that arose following the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City, the market for modest Islamic fashion in the United States has been marginalized and underserved (Lewis, 2018). Recognizing this unmet demand for modest Islamic fashion in the United States, many niche modest, fashion-focused brands emerged in the 2010s.

As modest fashion gains currency in the United States, the Islamophobic sentiment that permeates the fashion industry remains a concern for modest fashion brands, models, influencers, and consumers alike. Much of the existing scholarship on modest fashion has focused on the rising demand for Islamic fashion and the community responses to meet those demands (Akou, 2007; Janmohamed, 2016; Kavakci & Kraeplin, 2017; Lewis, 2010, 2015; Peterson, 2020). Additionally, several researchers have focused on the social, political, and racial issues surrounding consumption of modest fashions, such as veiling practices (Ali, 2014; Awad, 2010; Lewis, 2015; Mir, 2011; Peterson, 2020; Ramachandran, 2009; Watt, 2012; Williams & Vashi, 2007). Few scholars have examined Muslim women’s modest fashion brand entrepreneurs and their experiences launching and sustaining their businesses, particularly how their intersectional identities (Mizra, 2020) inform their business practices. Thus, in this research, we ask the following:

• 1. Why and how did Muslim women entrepreneurs start their modest fashion brands?

• 2. What are their experiences starting and sustaining their modest fashion brands

• 3. How do agency, intersectionality, and oppression intersect with these women’s experiences?

Through oral histories with three Muslim women entrepreneurs who recently started modest fashion businesses, we reveal how these business owners navigate the complexities of starting and sustaining their businesses amidst the post-9/11 context. This research is important because it will have significant implications for the fashion industry and society at large. It will inform business practices to better understand the specific struggles and successes Muslim women entrepreneurs experienced when opening and sustaining their modest fashion businesses. Therefore, it can help those looking to enter the modest fashion market and those already in the market to improve their business practices and strategies as sharing business practices can positively impact women entrepreneurs’ income (Beriso, 2021). Specifically, this research will shed light on the “distinguished entrepreneur” Muslim women who can be viewed as role models for others (Caraayannis & Stewart, 2013; Kamberidou, 2020). Additionally, this research will give a voice to a marginalized community, providing society with a better understanding of the complex identities of American Muslim women as ultimately, education is the first step towards reducing discrimination and improving marginalized communities’ experiences throughout society.

Literature review

Muslim women in the United States: homogenization, oppression, faith, and fashion

In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Islamophobic sentiment toward Muslim American women increased based on their intersectional identities (Nadal et al., 2012; Selod, 2015). Although Muslims are a distinct group of individuals who practice Islam, a monotheistic belief in one God (Allah) and the prophet Mohammed (Lipka, 2017), they are a racially diverse group of people from various cultural backgrounds such as Africa, Arabia, and South Asia. Yet many people in Western cultures have conflated Muslims into a single racial identity, which Selod (2015) referred to as “racialization” or “otherness”. Thus, in the twenty-teens, Muslim Americans reported that their fellow American citizens perceived them as “premodern”, an “embodied physical threat”, and “in oppressive gendered binaries” (Ali, 2014, p. 1251). Watt (2012) suggested that non-Muslim individuals perceived Muslim women’s roles as homogeneous and assumed that the Islamic practice of covering through modest dress or veiling represents “backwardness, religious fundamentalism, male oppression, and terrorism” (p. 33). Awad (2010) also claimed that Muslim women who visibly identified as Muslim by veiling were subjected to bias and as a result, produced stronger ethnic identities. In his study of 15 Muslim women in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, Rashid (2017) found his participants wore the hijab as a symbol of their submission to faith and Allah. These women believed that Westerners associated the hijab with negative attitudes toward Islam, yet they “considered wearing [it] a virtue” (p. 485). All these researchers found that compared with men, Muslim American women who veiled experienced heightened levels of oppression (e.g., Ali, 2014; Awad, 2010).

Muslim women not only wear the hijab to affirm their faith, but also to assert their cultural identities and, in some instances, articulate resistance to the Western gaze. For instance, Bouvier (2016) argued that Muslim women use clothing to communicate multiple discourses simultaneously: “modesty, religious identity and tradition, on the one hand, and freedom, confidence and modernity, on the other” (p. 364). In 1950s Algeria and 1970s Iran, wearing the hijab “became a potent symbol of resistance during [the] anticolonial and revolutionary struggle” of rejecting acts of oppression (Bullock, 2002, p. 131). Similarly, in the United States, second-generation Muslim Americans have also been wearing the hijab as a “symbol of [cultural] authenticity and pride” to reclaim their Muslim identities and resist long-held stereotypes constructed by Western culture (Haddad, 2007, p. 254; Watt, 2012). Janmohamed (2016) found that young Muslims are more connected to their faith than their parents were and they “will don the hijab to assert their commitment to their Muslim identity” (p. 37). They belong to “Generation M”, a growing population of young Muslims who believe “faith and modernity go hand in hand” (Janmohamed, 2016, p. 5). Lewis (2013) explained that the myriad ways in which young Muslim women have achieved modest self-presentation has led to the proliferation of the modest fashion movement.

Dr. Lewis explained that the fashion industry was previously deeply averse “to being publicly associated with Muslims, whether as designers, models, consumers or influencers” (Lewis, 2018); yet in the 2010s, the market for modest Muslim dress became a “lucrative global industry”, and companies began responding “to the increasing expenditure by Muslim consumers” (Hwang & Kim, 2020, p. 1). By the end of the decade, modest fashion “had become a recognizable trend” (Clawson, 2021, para. 4), the hijab had become a central item in the movement (Ashraf, 2022), and the market segment experienced unprecedented growth driven by young Muslim women worldwide (Janmohamed, 2016; Lewis, 2013; Usher, 2018). As a result, Muslim women owners of niche brands targeting Muslim women consumers began reclaiming modest fashion in the United States and providing products in the marketplace to meet the growing needs of Muslim women consumers (Lewis, 2013).

In our previous research, we critically analyzed websites of 11 niche U.S.-based modest fashion brands and found that many of the retailers had emerged to fill an unmet demand for fashionable modest wear (withheld for anonymity). Many of these retailers explicitly stated on their websites that they developed their brands because of the struggle, difficulty, or challenge of finding fashionable modest clothing to meet their modern lifestyles. They found that mainstream fashion companies often designed clothing with “plunging necklines and sheer materials” (Urban Modesty, XXXX, para. 2) that did not conform to the needs of their faith. It was evident that the women owners developed the brands to meet a need that was deeply rooted in their personal experiences and struggles: to find stylish clothing that adhered to their Islamic practice of modest dress.

Existing scholarship on modest fashion has focused on the rising demand for Islamic fashion and the community responses to meet those demands. This includes studies on representation of Muslim women’s dress in magazines (Lewis, 2010); emerging Islamic online fashion businesses (Akou, 2007; Janmohamed, 2016); and how young Muslim women promote and advocate the hijab through new media practices such as blogging, vlogging, and social media (Janmohamed, 2016; Kavakci & Kraeplin, 2017; Lewis, 2015; Peterson, 2020). Several scholars have also focused on the social, political, and racial issues surrounding the veiling practices of Muslim women (Ali, 2014; Awad, 2010; Bouvier, 2016; Lewis, 2015; Mir, 2011; Peterson, 2020; Ramachandran, 2009; Watt, 2012; Williams & Vashi, 2007). Yet no known scholarship has examined the experiences of American Muslim women entrepreneurs entering the modest fashion movement in the United States. Thus, we aim to fill that gap in this research, which can offer important business implications to other entrepreneurs in or looking to enter the fashion market.

Intersectionality and feminist commodity activism

To inform our research approach and situate and contextualize our findings from a critical perspective, we drew upon the theories and perspectives including intersectionality and feminist commodity activism. Because of the past homogenization of Muslim women, we drew upon intersectionality. Crenshaw (1991)’s seminal work on intersectionality theory illustrated how race and gender influence violence against women of color within structural, political, and representational intersectionality. That is, structural intersectionality examines how women of color experience violence, rape, and remedial offerings differently from White women. Thus, an intersectional approach in our research will consider the entire American Muslim woman rather than conflating her identity with Muslim women in the East or reducing her identity to the veil. That is, it is imperative to recognize and consider the intersectional or multi-faceted identities—age, race, class, gender, sex—of Muslim women. This also includes where they were born, raised, and live as well as other social identifiers. We also leaned upon the tenets of Black feminist thought, specifically its attention to self-definition and self-valuation, which are tied to notions of intersectionality. Collins urged Black women to practice self-definition by challenging social and political constructs that have defined stereotypical images of Black women and forge their own reality (Collins, 1986, 2000). Acts of self-valuation involve replacing socially constructed images with authentic images and thus considering the multiple and nuanced layers of identity (Collins, 1986).

Because our work is rooted in questions about markets and capitalism, we also drew upon Repo’s (2020) theoretical work in feminist commodity activism, which helps explain the politics surrounding the commodification of feminist activism. Commodity activism explains the phenomenon in which “organizations and corporations sell us the idea that through buying their product, we can make the world a better, fairer, healthier, more just, more habitable or more equal place” (Littler, 2009, pp. 23–24). Businesses have engaged with ethical consumerism as a means of creating new markets, such as touting fair trade or organic products or engaging in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices (Repo, 2020). Through commodity activism, consumption emerges in the form of brands’ sociopolitical engagements and is often associated with a brand’s promise to institute ethical practices and/or tie consumption to charitable donations (Brooks, 2015; Hawkins, 2012). Commodity feminism or feminist consumerism reframes feminism into a postfeminist ideology that no longer views appearance-modifying commodities as oppressive but rather empowers women through consumption. Instead of using the “f-word” (feminism) to advertise products, commodity feminism garners consumer attention through marketing discourses of feminist themes such as empowerment, self-acceptance, and self-esteem (Repo, 2020). Feminist consumerism “encourages women to channel dissent and practice self-care by engaging with corporate marketing campaigns” (Johnston & Taylor, 2008, p. 961). For instance, Johnston and Taylor (2018) used the example of the Dove campaign for Real Beauty to illustrate how the company used real people rather than models in this campaign to defy narrow beauty industry ideals and empower women to accept their natural beauty. However, scholars have critiqued commodity feminism asserting that it avoids the cultural, economic, and social pressures historically associated with women’s bodies and threatens feminist critics who have long sought to expose the political and ethical concerns of a capitalist consumer society (Bordo, 2003; Horowitz, 2004).

Research methods

In alignment with our use of critical theories to contextualize interpretation of our findings, our research philosophy is rooted in a synthesis of interpretative and critical social science approaches, as outlined by Neuman (2011). Within this framework, we posit that meaning is actively shaped "in ongoing processes of communication and negotiation" during human interactions embedded in cultural constructs (Neuman, 2011, p. 102). Adopting this approach allows us to delve into understanding the significance of actions as perceived by the individuals engaging in them (p. 103). Our overarching aim is to gain insight into the experiences of others, recognizing the vast diversity within human lived experiences and fostering a deeper appreciation of our shared humanity (pp. 106–107). Moving beyond a purely interpretative stance, our research philosophy takes a critical turn. Our objective extends beyond merely studying the lived experiences of Muslim women entrepreneurs; rather, it is geared toward instigating transformative change (p. 109). We aspire to go beyond observation to active intervention, seeking to "transform social relations by revealing the underlying sources of social control, power relations, and inequality" (p. 109). In essence, our research philosophy embodies a commitment not only to understanding, but also to challenging and reshaping the societal forces that influence the lives of Muslim women business owners.

To answer our research questions in alignment with our research philosophy, we drew upon the oral history method to understand Muslim women entrepreneurs’ lived and nuanced experiences starting and sustaining their modest fashion brands. Oral history is a type of narrative analysis in which the researcher collects “personal reflections of events and their causes and effects from one individual or several individuals” (Creswell, 2013) and as such, follows the general data analysis process outlined for narrative studies (Portelli, 2003). We conducted three oral history interviews in the form of semi structured interviews following the interview guide found in Appendix A. Although an interview guide was used to ensure all research topics were covered, the guide allowed for flexibility in the flow of the conversation. To increase credibility, we audio- and video-recorded the interviews and transcribed each interview verbatim. The interviewees all checked the transcript for accuracy and we then used the transcriptions to analyze the data.

We used purposive criterion sampling to identify participants for this study. This ensured that the population met the predetermined criterion that the participants had experienced the phenomenon (Patton, 2002). In narrative studies, Creswell (2007) noted that researchers are primarily concerned with whom to study and the most important consideration is that the population has a story to share about their lived experiences. We invited fashion brand entrepreneurs who catered to Muslim women by selling modest fashion, specifically brands that sold hijabs. Through media searches, we identified only brands that were founded and incorporated by Muslim women in the United States to ensure the target audience was U.S.-based Muslim women. For instance, we searched mainstream media outlets such as Women’s Wear Daily or popular modest fashion blogs such as Modest Path, using numerous phrases such as “modest fashion brands”, “Muslim fashion brands”, and “modest fashion shopping”. We also used similar phrases to search in newspaper databases such as Google news and Access World News. These media outlets provided numerous articles describing modest fashion brands, which we then used as a starting point for identifying brands to include. We limited the sample to brands selling hijabs because other modest fashion brands existed that targeted various religious as well as secular consumers who practiced modesty, and selling the hijab ensured the brands analyzed in this study targeted Muslim women. We also limited the sample to brands that had a website and social media presence because part of the interview involved examining their digital presence, media, and products. Then, we contacted 18 brand owners that met these criteria, which again we identified from reviewing media discussing contemporary modest fashion. Nine brand owners responded.

While conducting the interviews, we began analyzing the transcribed data with Dedoose (qualitative software analysis program), using the constant comparative open, axial, and selective coding process to identify emerging themes in the data (Corbin & Strauss, 1990). The constant comparison process means that we created a codebook and constantly compared the data with the codes and themes we created until we had saturated the categories. That is, we collected data until no new information emerged (Creswell, 2013). Thus, after the third interview, we determined that no new information was emerging and we concluded data collection with enough data to explore our research questions. We then interpreted our findings with the literature and theory (intersectionality and feminist commodity activism).

We employed various methods to ensure the research design was credible and trustworthy while maintaining consistency throughout the research process. We employed techniques outlined by Creswell (2013) such as trust and engagement; member checking; rich, thick descriptions; interrater agreement; bias; and creating an oral history repository. For example, to build trust with the participant, prior to the interview, the first author engaged in light conversations with the participants to build rapport. We shared the results of the study with the participants to ensure that what they said was accurate. We also took a social constructivist approach and did not aim to quantify the results; instead, we increased validity by providing rich, thick descriptions of the findings. At the onset of the research process, we aimed to keep open minds and be receptive to the perspectives of the participants. We acknowledged our various subject positions and engaged in “epoche”, reflections on how biases from our identities and/or experiences could inform the study. We bracketed or aimed to set aside assumptions prior to data collection. The second author examined a sample of the data to ensure the accuracy of the transcriptions and consistency with the data analysis and interpretation. She analyzed 20% of the data. We then compared data analyses until we had at least a 90% interrater agreement rate. We reworked the codebook, and the first author reanalyzed all the data with the finalized code book. Last, an important component of oral history is the creation of an accessible digital repository (Ritchie, 2013). Thus, we created an online database of the transcriptions, which can be found on YouTube (Textiles & Clothing Museum at ISU, 2023).

Results

The three interviewees each had unique business approaches and experiences. Styled by Zubaidah is a plus-size-focused modest fashion brand founded by Zubaidah Abdul-Hakim in 2013. She started with Islamic jewelry and then expanded the product offering to modest Islamic dresses for the plus-size woman consumer because of the lack of inclusive sizing for plus-size Muslim women. Their mission “is to create a beautiful products that all hijabis with curves would love and appreciate [because] we believe that style has no size and curvy girls need love too (Styled by Zubaidah)” (para. 2). Zaharaa Berro launched her brand Zaharaa the Label in 2020. Designed in California, Zaharaa the Label (XXXX) is “a luxury Modest Fashion & Hijab brand embracing relaxed femininity, optimism and effortless sophistication” (para 1). Last, Arshiya Kherani launched Sukoon Active in 2016, which is a modest fashion brand for the athletic Muslim woman. The brand’s core philosophies embrace a woman’s universal right to an active lifestyle, offering innovative, functional, and inclusive clothing and operating a sustainable business model (Our Story, XXXX).

After analyzing the oral histories, we identified core themes that explain how and why these Muslim woman entrepreneurs started their modest fashion brands; what their experiences were starting and sustaining their fashion brands; and how agency, intersectionality, and oppression intersected with their experiences. Core themes included (1) creating space for diverse Muslim women in the fashion system; (2) controlling owners; (3) difficult practices: experience, time, finance, and White supremacy; (4) successful strategies: occupying diverse digital spaces and pop-ups; (5) success strategies: centering nuanced Muslim identities, (6) consumer ambivalence toward the brand: love and criticism; and (7) sustainability justice is a must.

Core 1: creating space for diverse Muslim women in the fashion system

The entrepreneurs launched their fashion brands to create space for Muslim women in the fashion system. One reason is that prior to starting their business, these Muslim women personally struggled to find fashionable clothing to meet their modest fashion-clothing needs. As a result, they engaged in various creative and DIY fashion practices to dress modestly. For example, when Kherani started working out in high school, she wore a bandana as a hijab and her sister’s old maternity clothes because they were “bigger, looser, and longer”. Kherani was in high school in the 2010s when athleisure began trending and everyone started wearing leggings and sports bras. It was the end of frumpy sweatpants, and Kherani felt awkward in her DIY wardrobe, but there were no active modest fashion options for her in the United States. She said a few items such as balaclavas, or cloth headgear that only exposes the eyes, worn, for example, during skiing, were available outside the United States. When Abdul-Hakim searched for modest styles before launching her brand, she always added layers. She said, “You would have to get a maxi dress and then layer it with sweaters, long sleeve shirts.” Being a plus-size Muslim woman, Abdul-Hakim found it “absolutely impossible to get anything” and would custom-make modest clothing for her “curvy size”. She continued, “I wanted clothing that fit me [her plus-size body, specifically] well, that [also] fit my Muslim identity.” Berro also struggled to find stylish modest styles. She recalled wanting to design a maxi plaid skirt that she found in a picture. She said, “I want to make this for Muslim women because I do not find gorgeous maxi skirts like this.”

These women were invested in creating space for their community. According to Kherani and Abdul-Hakim, mainstream brands did not capture the necessary design elements Muslim women desire and need for Islamic worshipping practices. Kherani further explained that mainstream retailers also lacked innovation, comfort, a pleasing esthetic, and fit when deigning sportswear; she said that hijabs and sports tunics were too constricting and lacked breathability. During the oral history, Kherani modeled an example of trying to squeeze into a skintight sports hijab from Nike, emphasizing its lack of innovation, functionality, breathability, and style. Kherani emphasized how she knew Muslim women’s needs best because she lived the Muslim life: “For me, I’m living this [Muslim life] and I bet you the designer at Nike or Puma or whatever is not, right? So, there’s a difference in how that translates into a core offering for our [Muslim] demographic.”

Kherani, Berro, and Abdul-Hakim also carefully chose meaningful company names to overtly relate to other Muslim women; that is, they created space in the fashion system by using fashion brand names that would overtly signify the company was by and for Muslim women. For example, Berro chose the name Zaharaa the Label; Zaharaa is a holy Muslim name. As a Muslim woman, she was conscious of the respect related to holy names and therefore uses ZTL for short when branding her shoes to avoid disrespecting Islamic culture. Kherani’s brand name, Sukoon Active, was inspired by the Arabic and Urdu languages, meaning calm, relief, and peace. Following a traumatizing period in her life when she could not find active wear to fulfill her modesty requirements, Kherani stated that Sukoon “gave [the brand] a personality. It gave it a presence, a grounding in my life. It translates across both my own personal culture and then my Muslim identity.” Abdul-Hakim also consciously chose names to reflect her Muslim identity—her best-selling dress is named after her Muslim-identifying mother, Lynn.

The entrepreneurs all started their businesses with one product or target market, then expanded. For example, Abdul-Karim started Styled by Zubaidah as a jewelry business at the onset of the modest fashion boom in 2012. Frustrated by the lack of plus-size clothing for Muslim women in the United States, she used her profits from selling jewelry to begin designing dresses for the plus-size modest Muslim woman. Abdul-Karim has a niche customer base of mainly “curvy-size, plus-size American Muslim women.” She explained that 75% of her customers are African American women and the other 25% are mostly Arab and other ethnicities. Yet, Abdul-Hakim acquired a few Jewish customers after participating in a Jewish/Muslim interfaith fashion show hosted by Toby Rubenstein (author of The House of Fashion), thus expanding her target market beyond Muslim women. Kherani first launched accessories: a sticker kit, headbands for those who do not want to wear the hijab and a tote bag. As her primary customer base, she targeted Muslim women in the United States but found that Muslim women in the Middle East and other parts of the world were also purchasing her products in large quantities online. Additionally, Kherani explained that one unforeseen consumer was the non-Muslim, light-skinned woman who buying her products to protect their skin from the sun.

Core 2: controlling owners

The women owners explained that while starting and sustaining their business, they took significant control and were highly invested in all aspects of their businesses from design to sales. Abdul-Hakim personally designs and styles her entire product offering, whereas Kherani and Berro work closely with their designers. Abdul-Hakim explained that she manufactures in Korea and China, where they also source fabric for her different products. She continued, “They’ll go to their fabric market and we’ll shop together. I’ll do a Zoom call with them or FaceTime with them, and they’ll walk through the fabric market and say, ‘Hey, do you like this print? This one, this one?’” Berro partners closely with the designers to ideate her creations. She discussed initially working with manufacturers who would either hand-sketch or 3D-design the collections she wanted to produce. Then as her business grew, she explained how she hired a Muslim graphic designer from Dubai who had experience working with a few other Muslim brands. She also discussed hiring an in-house fashion designer who had previously worked for Ralph Lauren and Levi’s Jeans. Berro said that together they “built [their] Ramadan collection, which is coming out in the next month and a half [April 2022].” Although working closely with her designers to create products for Zaharaa the Label, Berro stated, “I always have the final say. The inspiration comes from me solely.”

The women also self-managed numerous other aspects of their businesses. During the interview, Abdul-Hakim discussed how her busy schedule ranges from running from photo shoots to creating content and conducting weekly team strategy meetings. She explained that she often uses Peerspace, a peer-to-peer platform for booking spaces for events, meetings, and production, for content creation. The space is available prestaged and allows Abdul-Karim to create content for social media, which is an integral part of her business. She explained setting time aside to create content is something she builds into her schedule. In addition to creating content weekly from her home office. If Abdul-Hakim is not designing, creating content, or working a photoshoot, then she is strategizing or selling. Berro also has a busy schedule that fluctuates from day-to-day. When she is not working with her designer, Berro manages the hiring and marketing and even steps in to support customer service and logistics. Although Kherani also managed all areas of her business, she mainly focused her energy on product design and production.

Core 3: difficult practices—experience, time, finance and White supremacy

The entrepreneurs encountered varying levels of difficulties when running their modest fashion brands. First, they had little prior experience managing retail, operations, design, human resources, and/or marketing. Abdul-Karim’s background was in accounting, and she also studied apparel pattern making; these are important skills for running a fashion business, yet she had no prior experience in retail, marketing, or management. Therefore, she and the other owners learned from many of their mistakes. For example, Styled by Zubaidah is a plus-size brand, yet Abdul Hakim shared her early experiences of hiring models that did not align with her brand’s identity. She explained that one mistake she made early on was featuring smaller models in her marketing campaign in the size 10 or medium range who were not representative of the larger spectrum of her size offerings and thus confused the customers. Berro also studied accounting and worked as an accountant for a few years but explained that she did not have any professional retail or marketing experience. She said,

So this is interesting because when you start as an entrepreneur, you have no idea what you‘re doing. You just do it because you love it. And so, that was my journey. I didn‘t have a method. I didn’t have a strategy. I never knew marketing more than my personal followers, my personal platform that I’ve built.

She also disclosed that one of her biggest challenges was not having experience in human resources. Having a background in finance, Kherani also lacked retail experience. She said, “I had started my career in finance. I have no formal training in fashion or operations, anything like that, marketing. And when I started Sukoon, I just dove right into product.”

The women also shared how managing a small business is time intensive. Abdul-Hakim explained that one of her main struggles is the lack of assistance with running her business. Berro also discussed the substantial amount of time involved in running her business. She said, “I work 24/7, around the clock.” Kherani described the significant time involved in finding a factory that had the skill to create hijabs. She said, “Hijabs are not so simple because they’re so detailed, and factories don’t know how to make them.” She explained sourcing a hijab manufacturer required her to dedicate more time than a company that sells sweaters or shirts would “because there was so much training and buy-in required to get a manufacturer to want to make the product.” She further underscored the rigor involved with “relationship management and language barriers” just to create the product. She emphasized that managing the production and supply chain took up 90% of her time.

The women also encountered difficulties financing their businesses or maintaining cash flow. Abdul-Hakim discussed that she and her husband self-financed all business operations and associated challenges. She said, “It’s difficult financing yourself. It’s difficult digging in your own pocket and doing the payroll. It is difficult coming out with a new line every year, especially during the pandemic.” Abdul-Hakim said that it was even harder for small businesses to secure financing because the business’s sales were not significant enough to qualify. Berro also personally funded her business and then eventually took Shopify loans to maintain cash flow. She explained that she quickly paid back the loans and sought subsequent loans until she was able to secure a loan large enough to scale her business. After securing a loan for $120,000, she said, “I would have more leverage to go in the business and purchase more inventory. And so, everything I made was deeply reinvested in the business.” She also discussed seeking two personal investors to fund the business. Although Berro successfully sought funding and loans to launch and sustain her business operations, she discussed having a limited marketing budget when she first launched her brand. In addition to investing her personal funds into Sukoon Active, Kherani received support from family, crowd sourced through Kick Starter, and fundraised. Although she successfully launched her business by raising $27,000 through Kickstarter, Kherani discussed getting overly caught up in fundraising, which took time away from working on other areas of the business and completely drained her energy.

Last, Abdul-Hakim and Kherani discussed experiencing White supremacy when running their businesses. Abdul-Hakim explained that people gravitated toward the White-owned modest fashion brands, that she struggled with the “fat Black” girl image of her brand. She felt that White-owned brands were more socially acceptable. Abdul-Hakim said,

I’ve been around for 10 years. You would think, “Hey, her brand’s been here for 10 years. She should be at the level of, let’s say, a Veiled Collection”, which is a different brand that is not a Black-owned brand. I feel like when you have brands like that, that are not Black or not Brown, people tend to navigate or gravitate towards them. Then that‘s another struggle because they‘re a little bit more aesthetically pleasing than fat, Black girl[s].

Although Kherani successfully launched her brand via Kickstarter, she recounted oppressive experiences when trying to seek investors. She said,

I was running alongside the White man who could get intros, warm intros. And I would get those intros, and the meetings were condescending at best. So I was spending all this time. And I remember, I would take meetings with people to fundraise for Sukhoon, and I remember one female founder, and it was a female founder fund. She got on the phone with me, and she was like, “Do you really think anybody in America is going to be wearing a hijab in the next 10 years?” And I was like, “Why are you on the phone with me? Why are we in this meeting?” And I asked her that because this was near the end of my ... I had met like 50 investors at this point, and I asked her, I was like, ‘Why are you taking this meeting?” And she was like, “What do you mean?” She was taking it back, right, because that was rude. And I was like, “No, really, if that’s what you think, why are we on the phone? Because you’re never going to invest in my business.’” And it was like, that’s where it was a business challenge but also just a perception and maybe being too early and all this stuff. Yeah, and there were things that would happen that all the time, even within my own network, people I know that were like, “Oh, that’s just a little hijab business.” Things like that.

Following these discouraging experiences Kherani discussed hiring a communications consultant to manage her brand image and balancing catering to Muslim women and the perceptions of Muslim terrorism. The consultant trained her “on how to talk about being a Muslim person without going into rabbit holes on terrorism.”

Core 4: successful strategies—occupying diverse digital spaces, pop-ups

The women discussed general business strategies that contributed to the success of their brands, which mostly centered around occupying diverse digital spaces and selling in temporary spaces. That is, the women sustained their businesses by selling online. Abdul-Hakim also reported that pop-up shops have proven successful with both sales and new customer acquisition. She said, “When I’m doing a pop-up or I’m selling somewhere, they’ll buy every color.” She also mentioned, “Whenever I vend or pop-up, that’s where we get the bulk of our new customers in that area.” She shared successful pop-up experiences, such as testing a new market in Chicago. Berro explained that she started Zaharaa the Label on her personal blog, which was zaharraberro.com; and thanks to its success, she only sells online. She said, “We don’t have a brick and mortar or anything like that. I think that right now, [that is] the way the world is heading; it’s just the best to do [it] online.” Kherani’s business is also online only. She attempted a retail footprint but halted expansion because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Success was also attributed to advertising across digital platforms, such as through email, social media, and influencer marketing, which was described as essential to their businesses. Abdul-Hakim discussed successful strategies for advertising on social media, particularly how she received the highest return on investment through content creation. She said that creating content “through social media is how I make 80% of my money. I advertise through Instagram and Facebook. But [with] content creation, you could just be doing a reel and you’re talking, automatically you’ll make a sale.” Although Kherani did not use any paid marketing at the start of her business, she discussed using general digital strategies to engage her clients. She said, “We work with influencers [and] micro influencers. We try to build an organic community on Instagram. Just regular D2C stuff like influencer marketing, affiliates, ambassadors, building a digital community, newsletters, and paid marketing.” When we asked Berro which marketing platform, she receives the highest return on investment on, she responded that the top three were email marketing, Facebook, and then Google. She said email marketing “brings in around 30%, sometimes 40% [of the business’] revenue.” She also discussed how Zaharaa the Label organically grew from working with influencers since brand launched.

Core 5: successful strategies—centering nuanced Muslim identities

Another successful attribute of their businesses was catering to the nuanced, intersectional identities of Muslim women. That is, they did not group all Muslim woman as a single monolith but targeted their varied needs through products and marketing.

The products centered around nuanced Muslim women’s identities in their features and styles. For example, Abdul-Hakim’s products have features to allow for prayer and religious needs or wants. When designing tops or dresses, she includes buttons or elastic on the sleeves to allow Muslim women to make Wudu, or cleanse before prayer. The jewelry collection Abdul-Hakim launched her brand with incorporated God in the design process through words and symbols. She said, “There was a beaded bracelet that had a cross on it back in 2012. Beaded bracelets were a huge thing back then. I actually manufactured and designed a piece that said Allah in Arabic.” Berro discussed launching her first abaya collection for the 2023 Ramadan season to cater to high demand from her consumer base. She said that abayas are traditional, very modest, long dresses/gowns that Muslim women wear when worshipping at mosques.

The women, too, discussed offering modest clothing for fashionably oriented Muslim women, including those who are nursing, fat, have varying levels of modesty interpretations, have an active lifestyle, and identify as Black. Abdul Hakim drew inspiration from mainstream fashion brands and adjusted the styles for the modest woman’s body and needs. Abdul-Hakim also considers products for nursing Muslim women. She discussed incorporating buttons into the front of all Styled by Zubaidah’s Lynn dresses to allow mothers to easily breastfeed while dressing fashionably. Styled by Zubadiah’s product positioning centers on creating fashionable, modest styles for fat Muslim women. That is, Abdul-Hakim designs curvy styles with colors and patterns because there is nothing in the United States market for plus-size Muslim women. The women founders also offer products for women with varying levels of modesty interpretations. They all design trendy styles in colors other than traditional modesty interpretations of blacks and browns. Berro discussed avoiding dark colors while incorporating trendy attributes. Kherani considers the varying modesty interpretations of all Muslim women by offering multiple hijab styles and headbands. Although Kherani largely plays it safe because of capital constraints, she said she also includes pinks and blues in her product collections and campaigns to represent the nuanced identities of the active Muslim woman consumer. She said,

So much branding around, even in the active space is just black, and navy, and white, and gray. It’s very safe. And we had capital constraints. And we’re like, “Okay, we have to provide black, because black is black, but let’s be a little daring. Let’s put Muslim women in clothing that they’re not usually perceived in.

Sukoon Active’s product positioning centers on athletic wear for active Muslim women. As such, Kherani considers the functional needs of Muslim women who are athletic by designing breathable, innovative, and esthetically pleasing modest active wear. When we asked her whether any other brand offers functional sports hijabs, she responded, “Not like this, no.” Then she demonstrated how she designs aesthetically pleasing sports wraps and hijabs with a technical, functional (loops, clips, elastic) purpose to meet the athletic consumer’s basic needs. Kherani explained that balancing esthetics and functionality was challenging. She said, “The shaping really took us quite a long time to get, so that you don’t have that really sticky feeling that a lot of other sportswear hijabs have.”

The owner’s products also cater to Black Muslim women. Abdul-Hakim explained how her XL jerseys are favored by Black women with dreadlocks or sisterlocks (miniature-sized dreadlocks woven into the hair). Although Kherani’s product was not specifically created for Black women, she discovered a large following of Black women who appreciate the natural fibers of Sukoon Active’s hijabs to protect their hair.

These women owners attributed their success to centering their diverse Muslim customers in their marketing. For example, because they practice Islam, they know to consider Muslim holidays in their product releases and marketing campaigns. Abdul-Hakim and Berro explained that they were preparing for the Ramadan season. Abdul-Hakim discussed creating abayas for the Ramadan holiday because her clients had been requesting them. Earlier Abdul-Hakim explained that initially she featured smaller models in the medium-size range in her advertising visuals. She now features fat, Black, Muslim women who better represent Styled by Zubaidah’s consumer base in advertisements. She emphasized, “I feel like it’s very important [for] the visual to speak to the customer that you’re selling to by showing them themselves. That’s extremely important to me.” Kherani discussed how she intentionally portrayed Muslim women in a playful, fun, and energetic manner during photo shoots, which is atypical for Muslim women’s representations.

Core 6: consumer ambivalence towards the brand—love and criticism

By focusing on the Muslim woman consumer’s needs by offering personalized styling tips, catering to Muslim women’s diverse identities through product design and advertising, and building community, the women entrepreneurs developed customers who love their modest fashion brands yet also had much criticism for their brands. Abdul-Hakim shared a customer’s reaction after finally finding plus-size clothing that represented her size and identity for an upcoming holiday. She said, “My customers truly love the brand, they love that it’s exclusive. They love that they can come to us and say, “Hey, I need something that fits me.” Berro discussed how her customers not only love Zaharaa the Label’s products, but also how catering to their nuanced identities empowers them. She said,

We’ve had tons and tons of five-star reviews because people are just genuinely loving our product, loving our mission, loving what we create and how we make them feel, which is empowered at the end of each day.

Although these women have received much positive feedback about their brands, they also received judgment from those within the modest fashion communities. For instance, Abdul-Hakim explained being criticized by the Muslim community when attending places of worship while dressed modestly in her products yet in bright colors that represent her colorful personality; the criticisms centered around being too fashionable. Kherani discussed some of the negative feedback she received from the Muslim community around what can be considered modest for Muslim women. The owners also received community pushback about issues surrounding size inclusivity. Abdul-Hakim has a plus-sized modest fashion brand and explained that her customers have complained about Styled by Zubaidah not offering smaller sizes. Kherani similarly discussed the negative customer feedback Sukoon Active receives about lack of size inclusivity.

Core 7: sustainability justice is a must

Throughout the interviews, all the owners in this study also indicated a strong commitment to creating sustainable business models. Although Berro launched as a fast-fashion brand, she explained that her current priority is shifting towards a sustainable and intentional model. Berro further discussed the brand’s shift from designing trendy to classic styles to be more sustainable and to support her brands’ sustainability development goals, Berro partnered with industry experts in this area.

The brand owners discussed how they considered sourcing sustainable materials for product development and recycling. As Berro transitioned her business model to focus on sustainability, she explained she stopped sourcing from China as part of that process. Kherani said her designer only uses sustainable materials when designing Sukoon Active’s products. Kherani also discussed previously partnering with recycle and reuse services that allow brands to donate unused fabrics to be repurposed.

Abdul-Hakim engages in sustainability development goals initiatives by supporting minority communities. She explained donating end-of-season products to and hiring previously incarcerated women to assist with their reintegration into society. Berro explained that Zaharaa the Label is ramping up efforts to support minority women communities. She stated, “Right now, we have more efforts that we are working on with Zaharaa the Label, which [are] giving back to women, women of color in our communities, and also supporting mental health rights for women, advocating for women’s rights.” Last, Abdul-Hakim also explained how she donates time to mentoring smaller emerging fashion brands run by women of color with branding, social media, and pricing strategies.

Discussion

For this research we examined how and why American Muslim women entrepreneurs launched and sustained their modest fashion brands in the United States. This is important because in a post-9/11 context, the deeply ingrained Islamophobic sentiment in the United States (Ali, 2014; Awad, 2010; Selod, 2015; Watt, 2012) has permeated the fashion industry (Lewis 2018b) and further marginalizes Muslim women who seek to wear fashionable modest clothing. Although some mainstream brands, such as Nike, have emerged to meet the Muslim woman consumer’s fashion tastes and preferences (Solomon, 2019), we found that the entrepreneurs felt that the mainstream brands failed to address the needs of the nuanced Muslim woman. Thus, empowered to reclaim modest fashion (Haddad, 2007; Watt, 2012) and serve diverse Muslim women consumers, the Muslim women entrepreneurs in this study launched their brands. In this context, the entrepreneurs can be interpreted as positioning their products not only as fashion items but also as a means of empowerment and social contribution. That is, by launching their brands, they are arguably engaging in a form of commodity activism, suggesting that through the consumption of their modest fashion products, individuals can contribute to positive changes in the representation and empowerment of Muslim women in society. This interpretation aligns with the idea that the commodification of feminist activism involves selling products with the promise of contributing to a better and more just world (Littler, 2009; Repo, 2020).

Through the oral history interviews, we found that the women’s intersectional identities (Crenshaw, 1991) informed their business practices to cater to the nuanced identities of Muslim women. That is, the founders started their modest fashion brands to create a space for Muslim women to shop because previous market offerings did not meet some Muslim women’s needs (Lewis, 2013, 2018). Companies such as Nike were attempting to cater to these consumers (Solomon, 2019). Yet, the entrepreneurs expanded their product offerings and consumer base to be inclusive because of the scarcity of modest fashion in the U.S. market for the nuanced identities of the Muslim woman.

Through their business ventures, they experienced issues related to entrepreneurs certainly outside of their niche such that the experiences were time intensive (Caraayannis & Stewart, 2013) because the owners were highly involved in all aspects of their businesses, from design to sales. Additionally, having little prior experience running a fashion brand, they encountered a great deal of difficulty with marketing, production, and human resource management as well as capital constraints to financing their businesses or maintaining cash flow. Yet, unique to these women, they felt oppression in various experiences such as seeking finance as women, particularly Muslim women, and for one owner, being a Black-owned brand.

From a feminist perspective, we unpacked American Muslim women entrepreneurs’ experiences to reveal the successful strategies they used to overcome their struggles with exclusion from the mainstream fashion industry and oppressive experiences seeking financing. In their “quest for [Islamic] equality, equity, and empowerment” (Topal, 2015, p. 75) within the mainstream fashion industry, these women launched their brands for Muslim women, by Muslim women, because they understood the needs of Muslim women through their lived experiences. These women demonstrated the importance of creating desired product features for the nuanced Muslim woman, which the mainstream market, in some ways, had difficulty achieving. Of note is that dress is a “situated bodily practice” that allows for individual expression through embodiment, yet dress is subjected to the expectations of the fashion system and different cultures and situations (Entwistle, 2000, p. 325). Further, Kaiser et al. (1995) argued that the “late” capitalist economy and cultural ambiguity “intensifies symbolic ambiguity” (p. 181), creating a cycle of identity negotiation at the individual and cultural levels and style change “that assures the continuity of the fashion process” (Kaiser et al., 1995, p.177). These women desired for them and their consumers to embody their cultural identities while within the constraints of the capitalist market; yet paradoxically they launched individual capitalist-based enterprises largely rooted in Muslim feminist philosophies to provide space for negotiating multiple ways of what it means to exist as a Muslim woman in the Western world.

Prior to launching their businesses, the owners negotiated personal identity with societal expectation pressures, significantly influenced by the dominant capitalist fashion markets and the readily available goods (Kaiser et al., 1995; Titton, 2015). This process was further complicated for these Muslim women entrepreneurs who are situated at the intersection of oppressive experiences of dominant White and masculine cultures (Collins, 2000). Drawing upon Black feminist thought tenets of prioritizing self-definition and self-valuation, these women defined what it means to take agency for fashionable modest esthetics. They practiced self-definition by recognizing oppressive social constructs of fat, Black, or Muslim women and challenging these images through the labor involved with defining their business strategies. Launching their brands affirmed their self-valuation by claiming a space in the fashion industry. Additionally, Kaiser’s notions of style ambiguities help explain how these entrepreneurs grappled with activist sentiments that are engrained in purchasing self-determining products for profit—a seemingly contradictory pair.

Conclusion

In closing, we draw upon Titton’s (2015) notion of the “fashionable personae”, which explains how fashion bloggers’ identities are self-narrative negotiations influenced by personal tastes, opinions, and a performative embodiment that are restricted in various ways, most importantly by expectations of the fashion system. In reconciling our work, we argue that the “fashionable personae” concept, including personal tastes, opinions, and cultural and economic factors in addition to the entanglements of ambiguity and self-determination influenced the construction of these women’s experiences, what we term the entrepreneurial fashion activist personae. That is, these women took agency over their bodies and experiences to create space for themselves and other Muslim women. Yet these spaces were complicated by influence from the capitalist system.

Although the founders perpetuated style change and ensured the continuity of the fashion process through their businesses, feminist commodity activism explains how the Muslim women entrepreneurs engaged in the commodification of feminist activism through their modest fashion brands to empower Muslim women in the United States; they considered the Muslim woman’s intersectional identity in product design and marketing while overcoming challenges to bring success and support their communities. Launching their brands for Muslim women by Muslim women because of the struggle to find modest fashion were activist forms of protest against the mainstream fashion industry’s exclusion of the Muslim community (Lewis, 2018). They created a space that is desirable for fat, active, or fashionable Muslim women. By prioritizing the self-definition and self-valuation of Muslim women, they found freedom to rearticulate authentic Muslim women. For their entrepreneurial fashion activist personae, the f-words (e.g., fashion, freedom, feminism) represent new ways, which are certainly complicated and complex, of being and becoming to articulate authentic, personal identities through capitalism, entrepreneurship, consumption, and self-determination.

Theoretical implications

Our research has societal implications offering insights into the varying intersectional identities of Muslim women—they are not a monolith, despite the historic conflation of their identity by others (Selod, 2015). The participants in this study represent fashionable, fat, active, religious, Muslim, and women identities that have specific clothing needs and wants. They are independent, successful Muslim women business owners who have agency. This study brings to light the gender and racial injustices within the fashion system. That is, individuals in society can learn from this research about Muslim women in hopes of reducing discrimination, stereotypes, and microaggressions toward this community. Thus, we offer the entrepreneurial fashion activist personae to think through balancing justice philosophies in the capitalist system of entrepreneurial pursuits.

Managerial implications

Our research also has business implications for existing and emerging brands including, but not limited to, those targeting the modest fashion consumer in the U.S. market. For all entrepreneurs who would like to start a business, the successes and hardships experienced by the entrepreneurs in this study can serve as a roadmap for future business ventures and help guide business decisions and strategies. Existing modest fashion brands can better understand the needs of the modest fashion consumer by considering the successful strategies that Abdul-Hakim, Berro, and Kherani employed to focus on the Muslim woman consumer, thus contributing to their successful business practices. Entrepreneurs interested in starting a niche fashion brand can learn about why these modest fashion brands emerged and how they got started. Others looking to start fashion brands centering marginalized people as their target consumer could benefit from understand these entrepreneurs’ experiences. For instance, Black women entrepreneurs may benefit from these findings because they, too experience intersectional discrimination related to their race and gender.

Limitations and future research

Limitations include that we narrowed our study to three entrepreneurs and thus our research is not meant to be generalized to larger populations. Future scholars can examine other current modest Muslim fashion brand owners and those who emerge in the future to analyze the changing market. We also limited our research to U.S.-based fashion brands. Researchers can expand this work to analysis of fashion brands in other Western countries. We also limited the work to brands centering on the Muslim faith and from the brand owner’s perspective. In future work, scholars can analyze fashion brands centering on other religious or spiritually centered businesses in addition to studying from the consumer and/or manufacturer’s perspectives. Last, we limited this research to the oral history method. Further rich data could be collected using an ethnographic approach such as at the pop-up shops and using material culture analysis to examine the physical products the fashion brands produce.