The Fashioning of Southeast Asian Muslim Women’s Clothing from the Perspective of Social Phenomena and Global Market Changes

Abstract

Religions are among the most universal and influential social institutions, and they exert significant impacts on the attitudes, values, and behaviors of individuals and societies. Previously quite closed, Muslim women’s fashion has become trendy—a phenomenon most evident among young generations of women in Indonesia and Malaysia. This study examines the background and significance of the dynamic changes in fashioning that have occurred in the clothing of Southeast Asian Muslim women. Simultaneously, it investigates the emergence of Southeast Asian Muslim women consumers as an essential force in the global fashion market and the influencers that exert tremendous power over them. Finally, the study analyzes fashion trends in Southeast Asian Muslim countries. As an expression of individual fashion desires, the fashioning of Southeast Asian Muslim women helps elucidate trends in the current social environment. At the same time, in the midst of a rapidly changing international trade environment, Southeast Asia is attracting global attention as a fashion market.