“In 2009 when I was in Mecca, there were 3 to 4 million people and I didn’t see any Muslim fashion bands in shopping malls. There were mostly just shops selling headscarves and I asked myself why people were under addressing this community,” he said.
The company has grown rapidly since launching three years ago, with over a million orders per year from 50 countries.
Existing players
Turkey, the U.A.E, Indonesia and Iran are the top Muslim countries with the highest consumer clothing consumption, according to a separate report from the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre, Thomson Reuters and the Dinar Standard last week.
Local designers and start-ups in these nations are attempting to address the market gap, seen by Hijub in Indonesia and Citra Style in the United Arab Emirates. However, these brands typically cater to local shoppers, Euromonitor said, ensuring priority on their respective home markets instead of pursuing a global focus.
DKNY is one of the few global fashion heavyweights to embrace the Muslim market. Earlier this year, the U.S. label released a ‘Ramadan collection’ in Middle Eastern stores for the Eid holiday.
Online shopping remains the leading means of distribution in the sector, with Dinar Standard estimating fashion e-commerce expenditure at $4.8 billion in 2013. That’s bigger than India’s entire e-commerce market, valued at $3 billion presently.
“For Islamic fashion apparel to really pick up, it needs to become more available in typical bricks and mortar establishments,” Euromonitor said.
Van Diesen recommends interested players to invest in local brands with Islamic roots or that collaborate with Muslim designers, stating that companies who aren’t normally associated with Islamic apparel will likely face challenges if they enter the market alone.
“In particular, the company will need to confirm that the brand supply chain operates in accordance with Islamic values, as well as the concept of ‘halal’ in terms of sourcing.”
