From Calcutta to Brooklyn. It's fashionable to be covered up

When Dakota Johnson wore a gold Gucci gown with a high neck and long sleeves to the Oscars this year - there were some who felt this dress was too covered-up for a young Hollywood star. On the other hand, her choice of going modest, was seen by most as a style statement worth its weight in gold. Recently, there has been a move in fashion away from the skin baring towards a more demure style of dressing even on the red carpet. Modest dressing is something that has gone mainstream, and this was something that Ghizlan Guenez, CEO and Founder, The Modist was aware of. Ghizlan comes with a finance background, having been a part of the Abraaj group launch team. She worked with Abraaj for well over 13 years and was always known for her chic style of dressing. She joined the company when it was a startup and eventually decided it was time to look at helming her own startup.
She felt there was a market for a website the looked at modest dressing. "I found as I moved out of my 20s that I became more modest in my dressing. I am a practicing Muslim but I would not say religion is the reason - it is a style choice." The 38-year-old Ghizlan feels that modest dressing has become a macro trend. Of course it was not just about style, the math made sense too: as Ghizlan's research found that the modest fashion market is set to reach US$484 billion by 2019. The Modist (themodist.com) launched on international Women's Day on March 1 and ships to over 100 countries. The brand has a selection of over 75 leading ready-to-wear and accessories brands such as Marni, Alberta Ferretti, Christopher Kane and Mary Katrantzou. Also included are a handful of home-grown designers such as Bouguessa, Taller Marmo, Sarah's Bag and Nathalie Trad. The offices are located at Dubai Design District. There is a team of 25 that includes Sarah Sarokin as Fashion and Buying director. She comes with seven years experience from Net-A-Porter and Sally Matthews the former beauty and fashion director of Harper's Bazaar Arabia, is the Modist's creative director.
The Modist does not define what modest dressing is, as Ghizlan believes that is up to every woman's interpretation. But there are no bare shoulders and no short dresses on her website. "I think there was a time when showing skin was felt to be a way a woman showed her freedom. Now I think, women feel empowered when they dress more modestly." Ghizlan spent many months travelling around the world from Jeddah to London and Texas, asking woman how they wanted to dress. She then started talking to the brands. "At first they were apprehensive. Then we showed them presentations of how their product looked when worn modestly - they all said, 'This is Beautiful,'" says Ghizlan. While her main market is the United Arab Emirates, America is proving to be the Modist's second most important market. "We are getting orders from Calcutta and Brooklyn," she says.
Being the first season, Ghizlan has taken a 'modest' approach to marketing; there has been no formal launch party as of yet. But the response has made her bullish on expansion. She plans some physical pop-ups soon, with London being a city she is looking at very closely. "I have never seen so many women wearing dresses over jeans as I do now. Layering is such a key trend for women now. I think women of a certain age just feel more comfortable in a more covered up style of dressing. And it really is a style that exudes confidence," says Ghizlan. And the facts may prove she is right. The search demand on the internet for luxury modest fashion totals 630,000 searches a month, with the UK market indexing the highest by far.  And for this reason, The Modist believes that conservative is cool and they seemed to have hit on a niche that is rapidly becoming more and more popular.
Sujata is the fashion editor at Khaleej Times. She makes it her business to stay on trend
sujata@khaleejtimes.com