Inside the Glamorously Modest World of Muslim Women’s Fashion

Rabia Z. Zargarpur spent her early twenties attending the Fashion Institute of Technology, interning at women’s magazines, and working at Valentino. She knew what was trendy and how to dress herself. In the middle of 2001, the self-described “fashionista” went through a “spiritual transformation” and began to wear a hijab and dress modestly in honor of her Muslim faith. Then came 9/11.

“People started to remove their hijab,” Zargarpur recalled “But I didn’t want to do that. It was horrible to feel that something so personal, my hijab, is now a threat. I couldn’t even go out and be myself—why?” 

By Alaina Demopoulos, The Daily Beast