As designer and icon Yves St. Laurent once said, “Fashions fade, style is eternal.”
This year’s fashion trends, however, seem to reflect a value which has endured the test of time: Modesty.
With new trends trickling from the runway down into department stores and instagram each season, the fashion of 2017 has a particular penchant for covering up. With celebrities like Adele, Amal Clooney, and Kate Middleton stepping out on the scene in elegant and modest attire, there are now more tznius options than ever.
“Pop into Instagram #mipster (Muslim hipster), #hijabista (hijab-wearing fashionistas — don’t roll your eyes at me, I don’t make these words up) or simply #modestfashion and thousands of images of young women will appear,” Cosmopolitan editor Farah Storr wrote in the Times recently, in a piece explaining her own decision to opt for long sleeves and flowing dresses. (Jewish Chronicle)
The Jewish community has had its own impact on the modest fashion scene, with such fashionistas as Adi Heyman, Joyce Azria, and Jew In the City’s Allison Josephs leading the way.
Heyman had been working in the fashion industry when she started her modest fashion blog Fabologie in 2010. It was not long before it became popular with fashion enthusiasts of all backgrounds. Azria is the daughter of fashion mogul Max Azria, and designer in her own right. Her clothing lines seek to clothe all women with Jewish values in mind.
“A lot of girls buy into fashion trends and they push their level of comfort which creates insecurity,” Joyce notes. “The number one thing you should look at when selecting clothes is how comfortable they make you feel. Are they revealing too much? Making you feel insecure? Confidence is central in fashion and confidence really means being comfortable in yourself. It’s about finding the authentic ‘you.’ If you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing. And if you stand for nothing, people can’t stand you,” she quipped in an interview with Aish.com.
In a time when ’empowerment’ seems to translate to ‘exposure,’ these business-savvy Jewish fashion icons are using their platforms to spread awareness of Jewish values. As trends come and go, it seems class never goes out of style.