Italian fashion caters to Islam at 'Modest Fashion' summit

(ANSA) - Turin, July 28 - The Islamic Fashion Design Council (IDFC) featured in the second of three meetings of the Global Islamic Economy Summit (GIES) Roundtable series in Turin on Tuesday, the "Modest Fashion Roundtable".
    Italian fashion businesses and designers met with counterparts from over 20 countries representing the Islamic fashion world to discuss trends and needs in a sector estimated to reach a worth of 484 billion dollars by 2019.
    "In Italy you have quality and designer taste, and these are two characteristics that attract us the most," said Alia Khan, IDFC founder and president.
    "We live in a global market, and in fashion, our market is driven by the younger sector. Absolute requirements that clothes have to have? Cover the legs and arms. The garment depends on traditions," Khan said.
    That being the case, at the summit designers showed "total cover" basketball uniforms that face the challenge of how to make a uniform that covers from head to toe but is also light enough to allow for movement and athletic activity.
    Another innovation comes in the form of water-permeable nail polish, a must during "wudu," the cleansing ritual before prayers, in which water must be able to reach all parts of the skin, including the nail.
    The first of the GIES Roundtable Series took place in November 2014 on finance, and the third is scheduled for October 13 and 16 on the topic of food.