Veil fashion

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Wearing a veil does not necessarily mean giving up an elegant sense of dress, reports Ghada Abd El-Kader. Fashion designer Manar Hassan launched her first show -- "Veiled in style" -- at Al-Sawy Culture Wheel on Friday, an autumn and winter collection comprising "an invitation for women to see how Islamic dress does not mean giving up elegance". Hassan's view is that staying in line with religious traditions need not conflict with maintaining a stylish look. She was inspired by the teachings of one "new-wave preacher" who urges young people to fight unemployment by starting their own projects -- by becoming producers rather than simply consumers. Fashion design is her way of doing just that, as long as the work "preserves and respects religion and heritage," she said.

Inspired by Islamic art, Hassan's designs draw heavily on elements of nature -- flowers, trees and the sea -- as well as intricate geometrical patterns for their allure. A dental school graduate, Hassan had always enjoyed drawing, but did not take her hobby seriously until she enrolled in art school to study painting; it was her colleagues at Cairo University's Dental School who volunteered as models at Friday's show.

Only a few years ago, veiled women found it next to impossible to dress in style, with only the traditional tent-like black cloak, and black or brown headscarves available. Today, with an abundance of veil styles that may be considered "in fashion", Hassan says women are less likely to avoid what she feels is a religious obligation.

Her own foray into the fashion world would appear to be the culmination of an interesting dynamic, one where the heavenly delights of consumerism do not conflict with the dictates of faith.