This observation was made by well-established fashion industry players Roshan Isaacs and Barbara Nicolini who were among the panellists at the “Halal Haute Couture” held on the second day of the Aug. 2 to 4 “12th World Islamic Economic Forum” in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Isaacs, the Islamic Fashion and Design Council (South Africa) country manager, emphasised that for the longest time, Muslim women in Dubai and Turkey have been observed  to willingly shell out hefty cash for fashion.

She replied to a question raised by The Gulf Today, at the open forum, regarding the average fashion spend of Muslim women.

Isaacs said: “It actually depends on the circumstances and situation, the environment. Like for us in South Africa, we are family-orientated so there are a lot of parties and gatherings. As much as possible we always want to buy something new.

“But I know for a fact that women in Dubai and Turkey spend a lot,” she added.

The question was a follow-up on her earlier statement from the discussions that according to 2012 records, Muslim women in the US, France, Germany and the UK spent a total of $22 billion on clothes and footwear alone.

Nicolini, who honed her business acumen, in the world’s recognised fashion houses gave a preview of the Autumn 2016 fashion scene.

She agreed with this reporter that Islamic fashion is modest and elegant and has become the a la mode.

“Modesty could be haute couture. It is really elegant. It is the trend. Watch out for the fashion this autumn. (There is this top brand that uses) a lot of short skirts but with trousers or columns,” said Nicolini, who has been at the helm of her own fashion family business.

Though Indonesia’s Didiet Maulan claimed that the acceptance of the Islamic fashion in the global market still has challenges to face such as the development of talents and willing investors, he attributed the rise of this sector to the Modest Fashion Movement first felt in 2010 and the increasing number of “celebrams” or celebrities on Instagram who profusely publicise modesty through the popular social photo sharing site with a catchbasin of 500 million users worldwide.

He made special mention of the annual Indonesian Fashion Week and electronic commerce.

The IKAT creative director told this reporter that he supported the observation of a “doctor” from the audience that halal fashion must carry the messages from the Quran and therefore designs of animals and plants must be discouraged.

Also on the sidelines, he answered in the affirmative when asked if halal fashion has to observe Quran-accepted norms and procedures from the sourcing of materials to the designing, production and final product stages.

Maulan said: “That should be the direction, but then a lot has yet to be done in this area.”

Asked on the funding, Isaacs said South African banks are Shariah compliant and based on her experience, there is one financial institution that not only readily provides capital, but teaches Islamic business development skills to clients.