Rocking the hijab
Meet the international hijabi style icons, part of a growing modesty fashion movement


Dina Torkia, @dinatokio
The half-British, half-Eyptian designer, stylist and blogger looks like she has a blast putting together each look. Torkia’s popular and very watchable YouTube channel features lookbooks, fashion and makeup tutorials and more recently, her debut collection, which has a lot of full-sleeved, ankle-length hipness going on.

Summer Albarcha, @hipsterhijabis
"One tip I’d give to layer outfits — but not look messy — is to not go out of one’s way to make an outfit 'modest' or 'hijabi-fied.' This means to avoid wearing pieces that are immodest to begin with, such as shorts, that you then have to pair with leggings. Rather, try buying pieces that are in style and already modest.”
That’s advice from Summer Albarcha of Hipster Hijabis, a catalogue of easy-breezy looks modeled by the young Syrian-American stylist and fashion blogger. The Hipster Hijabi is young and fun, and the blog is packed with fashion tips, lookbooks, and shopping guides featuring high street brands like Forever 21, Aldo and Mango.
Albarcha is part of growing tribe of women identifying as modest fashionistas, ie those who love to experiment with clothes but prefer to cover up for religious reasons or simply because they’re more comfortable that way. The hijabis among them are particularly innovative because they have to incorporate the headscarf into each look. Interestingly for champions of the modesty movement, these women often get backlash from more conservative readers who believe this interest in fashion is immodest in itself. But largely they are seen as a new generation of believers who straddle different cultures perfectly and with style to spare.
Click for other stylish hijabis

Ascia, @ascia_akf
The most popular on this list—she has more than a million followers—Ascia runs the fashion blog Hybrid Headpiece with her husband Ahmed. The beautiful duo chronicles their personal style on the blog, where Ascia also writes about her life as designer, mother and Kuwaiti fashionista about town. On Insta, she is loved for the highly stylised shots of her well-tailored, laidback wardrobe that’s big on neutral colours and eye-catching accessories. Her unique way of tying her scarf like a turban draws a lot of comment and admiration, and someone’s even done a tutorial of it.