DESI STYLE | RANG 48 BLACKBURN

'The Arabs go Desi'

Last weekend we attended a wonderful family Asian - English wedding. Unfortunately my sister and I both left our outfit plans until the very last minute and weren't sure whether to go full on Desi or just turn up western wedding style.

We decided to go Desi and at just two nights before, and we were desperate to find some neutral coloured ready made suits. That's when I came across www.rang48.com. I highly recommend them because they were honestly a life saver to us. I asked for two ready made suits in our sizes and they sent me options via WhatsApp promptly, the pieces then posted out to us the very next day arriving a day before the ceremony.

The beautiful ceremony was hosted in the Hastings Museum - Durbar Hall which was actually the old home-town hospital. Such a beautiful place and much larger on the inside than anticipated.

I remember visiting the hall when I was younger on a school trip and feeling mesmerised, so pleased we had an excuse to go back. This magnificent carved hall was made for the 1886 Colonial & Indian Exhibition in London, where it was the centrepiece showing visitors what a typical Indian palace was like.  It was designed by Caspar Purdon Clarke, a noted authority on Indian & Islamic art.  It was built on-site in only 9 months by two skilled woodcarvers brought over from the Punjab -- Mohammed Baksh and Mohammed Juma.

  

Asmas outfit Sammy K in snow can be found here.

My sister Asma opted for BEAUTIFUL white cape embellished ensemble along with a white jersey hijab from  Al-Madina Hijabs.  

Such abeautiful centre feature. Back in the day the hall was draped with Indian fabric hangings and was used by the Prince of Wales for official receptions - who would have dreamed that it would've ended up back in the town I was born in? 

Asma wore a beautiful 3 piece suit with a White net cape with pearl and stone embellishment, White inner kameez and White straight trousers.

 

I loved my gold three piece, it included tapered trousers, a suit top and a beautiful dupatta. @rang48blackburn provide a choice between tailored/tapered trousers or kick flare style draped. I opted for the tapered pair to match my sister, they have three pearls down the side.

My outfit D'or can be found here.

I paired my suit with burgundy accessories. Asoom paired hers with White Valentinos and a silver clutch bag.

Did the Arabs pull off the Desi look?

With out sounding biased, I think these suits are a real treat and would look magnificent worn on Eid, or perfection during wedding season. Understated elegance is definitely the way forward.

www.rang48.com | @rang48blackburn | @al_madina_hijabs |

al-madinahijabs.com

LONDON MODEST FASHION WEEK | SAATCHI GALLERY

"Modest fashion is becoming more and more mainstream and global muslim spend on clothing set to hit $327bn by 2020."

International designers and high-street brands have all responded. Debenhams became the first major department store to sell hijabs (we all know scarves are sold in almost every store anyway just as 'scarves'). Zara, Mango, DKNY have all launched bespoke collections for this market as well as Dolce and Gabbana launching the first ever 'designer' abaya collection. More recently Uniqlo teamed up with @Hana Tajima - one of mine and many others first modest fashion icons... AND sportswear giant NIKE is due to launch Nike Pro Hijab next year.  Many local emerging designers are also coming onto the scene much to out delight - its about time modest fashion became inclusive of FASHION right?

As well as all of the above breakthroughs in the industry it really was the icing on the top of the cake for London Modest Fashion Week was a part of the London Fashion Week calendar. On Saturday (The first day) I was rushing between shows at LFW and LMFW. Not only were the two at opposite sides of London, but also completely opposite vibes.

Firstly, a quick breakfast (while I type this) at Le Pain Quotidien - always a the smoked salmon avocado, scallions and dill Tartine... so good. I'm just around the corner from the Saatchi Gallery - the beautiful venue where LMFW took place. 

Outfit one for day one; I wanted to keep things simple in terms of colour scheme as well as pieces - casual is the new glam. I teamed the Zahra Rose Alazaibi London collection with a cosy sweater, and heels for the 'glam' in the look, juxapositioning the linen and wool casuals. Details are as follows;

FAUX GLASSES | H&M

GOLD MULES| Newlook

GOLD JUMPER | H&M

WOVEN SCARF | H&M

WRAP TROUSERS | Zahra Rose Alazaibi London

WOOL WAISTCOAT | Zahra Rose Alazaibi London

 

The vibe of Modest Fashion Week was friendly, smiley, and compliments were flying from every angle between ladies. The tone of Fashion Week is the complete parallel. 

LFW etiquette apparently entails serious facial expressions, if you like somebody's outfit you simply look them up and down with your arms folded and shades hiding your face, you rarely speak to anybody unless necessary (or you're sociable like me). That's NOT to say I didn't enjoy the fashion, I just preferred the welcoming vibe of LMFW a WHOLE lot more.

On the first day of modest fashion week I arrived just before the doors opened after visiting the EDELINE LEE AW17 presentation at LFW, there was already a queue taking over The kings road. So many beautiful glammed up ladies (and even some reluctant looking males haha). I bumped into @annanourin in the queue and made friends with the Malays behind me : shout out to @Hanafedora, sister and friends, (can't wait to join you for Nassi Lemak someday)! 

When the doors opened I bumped into my lovely friend PR manager @ZuraAhmed and designer @surayaasharifuddin from @sukuraMalaysia. One of the highlights was definitely bumping into friends from the other side of the world and being embraced by their warm hugs - love you guys!

I walked around the ground floor gallery's which displayed SO much talent from both an array of new designers (around 40 to be precise) as well as established. What was really admirable is that everybody was supporting each-other and was so talkative. I also bumped into childhood friend @nabillaBee and spoke about the old times at primary school and our fathers friendship. I also met a whole bunch of you guys, we took photos together and enjoyed admiring each other's style!

I missed the opening show for London Modest Fashion Week unfortunately because I had to run to LFW to attend the Katie Ann Mcguigan show, however I was back in time for the final show of the day featuring Blancheur - one of my favourite collections!

I changed things up a little for the evening, My second outfit of the day consisted of wide comfy pants, and a matching top with my one of my own designs - an oversized wrapped coat.

OVERLAP JACKET | Zahra Rose Alazaibi London

BURGUNDY HEELS | Topshop

SATIN TOP | H&M

SATIN PJ BOTTOMS | RHW Collection M&S

My favourite shows from the London Modest Fashion Week showcase included; AmiraB, Blanchuer, Fizwoo, lyra, Maslea, Sahee London, Syomir Izwa. 

Day two, I started off the day in some comfy wide pants (to follow on from the night before) a chiffon blouse, with my beautiful @AlluraDesign silk scarf draped casually over one shoulder.

 

SATIN TROUSERS | H&M

CHIFFON BLOUSE | TOPSHOP

DRAPED SCARF | ALLURA DESIGN

HIJAB | H&M

The dress everybody asked about. I bought this on a whim from H&M for £40. I'm sure it sold out both online, in store and this was the only one in the Bond street store at the time... Everybody told me how ugly it was (because of the dropped waistline) I was unsure about keeping it. It definitely looks like a sack when worn with flats, but with heels it looks super glam. I'm especially in love with the colour and the fact it has pockets. In my option is perfect  for the summer, no layering required.

 

DRESS | H&M

BAG | LADY DIOR

SANDALS | NEWLOOK 

WOVEN SCARF | H&M

P.S. BuzzFeed also included me as number one on their best dressed list, EEEKKKKK. Check it out here.

  

 

AFTERNOON TEA WITH AMAL AL RASI | THE BROWNS HOTEL

I was so thrilled I was invited to preview the new Amal Al Rasi Collection at Brown hotel. I love both Fashion , Oman and Afternoon tea, so what better combination for an afternoon out?

I visited Oman once back in 2011 when I was showcasing at DFW. It's a beautiful country and the views from the aeroplane are ones which I will never forget. The landscape is heavily mountainous with beautiful carved valleys in between. It literally looks like you are about to land on Mars. The hustle and bustle of the locals is beauty in its own form. Everyone is so welcoming and the food is quite simply divine.It's no surprise that the foundations of the collection are derived from Omans silk route.

When found out the Amal Al Rasi team were flown in by Oman Air I was elated. Why? Not only did I fly with them, but until this day I still mention them as one of the most hospitable, pleasant flying experiences of my travels to date. I got excited before I even saw the collection.

My outfit consisted of head to ankle H&M as usual.

 

BURGUNDY SWEATER | H&M

BLACK FRILL TROUSERS | H&M

TAN COAT | H&M

BURGUNDY BAG | BRUNO MAGLI VINTAGE 

I vloged a little for you guys. I hope you enjoy it, and make sure you check out the website for more MODEST fashion options which are perfect all year, and ESPECIALLY for EID!

I fell in love with pretty much all of Amals designs. Her silhouettes are bold, minimal and timeless  and the attention to detail is simply exquisite. I really love the splashes of embellishment against the block colours and especially fell in love with the dress in the middle. See how I style this baby in a post to come.

I loved meeting Amal and her team, you'll catch a glimpse of them bellow!

www.amalalraisi.com | @amalalraisiofficial | +971 50 46 59 318

MUBARAK LONDON | MODEST FASHION WEEK

So last weekend I was at Modest fashion week, on my leave I was presented with goodie bags beyond my imagination.

This beauty was among the goodies in the bags. I have actually been a huge fan of this company for a while now, I just love their minimalist presentation, products and the personal touch to all their boxes.

The personal touches with gifts mean everything, how adorable is this personalised note addressed to me?

The website is truly a credit to the company, its easy to navigate, looks fresh and sharp and when something contains marble you know that I will be all over it. The branding is strong and maintained throughout, the luxury is emphasised in every direction.

My beautiful box contained such beautiful goodies and brands that I am overly familiar with - to my delight.

Another one of my favourite things about Mubarak is their occasion list contains muslim festivities, there are 'Hajj and Umrah' selections on the site as well as 'Sympathy', 'Mum To Be' and 'New home' hampers, everything has beautiful presentations and relevant quotations for that personal touch.

Cartwright and Butler do the BEST sweeties, the soft fruit jellies in this photo didnt last very long after this shot was taken - especially the strawberry ones.

The next package just makes me want to get married asap, the IDEAL MAN PACKAGE! How brilliantly perfect is that? The hamper contains: 

• A traditional and original Kuffiyeh from Palestine and what makes this item even more special is that Mubarak are helping support the last factory that produces these scarves. 

• A special book; 99 Blessed Names and Characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

• Following on from this book they have tried to revive the Sunnah by including a Miswak as part of this gift.

• As well as a premium quality male Manicure Kit in a compact and chic case.

What man wouldn't love to receive this as a gift? If in doubt you could alway go with the sweeties, chocolates or roses... Yes I said roses, read on my friends.

This is the Enchanted Box. When you first untie the box and lift the lid you’ll be taken back by 18 beautiful red roses, but not your average roses which wilt or die after a week! These are preserved roses which will last up to 2 years – yes you read it correctly.

If you’re giving flowers then surely chocolates need to be accompanied? The Enchanted comes with a box of  luxury hand crafted truffles made by The Chocolatier otherwise known as the amazing Aneesh Popat who supplies to Michelin restaurants and hotels comes in tantalising flavours such as Salted Pistachio and Chocolate Peanut Butter Praline – the best part is they are all Gluten free, Vegetarian, egg free and Halal- YAY!

The Rhubarb and Custard boiled sweeties took me right back to my high school days when we used to sneak out of school grounds to the corner shop during lunch break!

To my delight there is even a little bit of Sarah Bunton in here. The award winning welsh chocolatier. Whenever I am in John Lewis I always try to grab a bar - the salted caramel is my favourite flavour and the Banoffee doesn't go amiss either - how do the Mubarak family know me so well?

I LOVE how the brand caters for everybody, from the babies on the way to our beloved elders whilst maintaining its British identity, heritage and craftsmanship with selected British talent. Mubarak oozes luxury.

KATIE ANN MCGUIGAN | LONDON FASHION WEEK

Katie Ann Mcguigan is a womenswear brand from london. The label offers high-end ready-to-wear working on the frontier of print design along side modern and graphic silhouettes.

I went to see her show a few days ago during London fashion week and fell in love with her collection immediately despite not being sporting the 'bright and bold' look myself. 

Katies inspiration for her AW17 collection is an extension of her graduate collection, her primary mood and inspiration was from a Michal Chelbin’s photography of people and life in the Ukraine - a personal favourite series of mine. Hir's work Sailboats and Swans, a photo series of Russian and Ukraine youth prisons gave her the ispiration for the prints used in her AW17 collection.

A few of my favourite shots from Hir's Sailboats and swans series:

 

 

Photos from: MichalChelbin.com

I loved the primary colours and how they work together - its a start contrast from the ousted colours from the primary research. I also thought the utilitarian work wear reference was apparent but you have to be quite the talented designer to shift it from era into a catwalk worthy look which I think we can all agree works so well here.

I loved how almost every look was just ready to be worn with a hijab, I think those colourful sheer socks with heels will definitely make an appliance on the modest fashion scene as well as those gorgeously bolshy silhouettes and printed chiffons combined with heavy wool. Such a regal statement look.

I didn't have very many good quality photos of my own unfortunately, I was second row and some silly man was waving his camera in everyones face rather than absorbing the moment - if you gotta film then be static with it for heaven's sake.