An interview with Mohammed Amin

LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW… GET STYLIN!

Mohammed Amin is one of the Directors at Silk Route as well as the head of Global Marketing and Sales at Islamic Design House. He graduated in English and Linguistics from Queen Mary and Westfield, University of London.

Can you tell us about the Silk Route StyleIn! Jilbab/Abaya Design Competition?
The competition is Silk Route’s chance to champion the talent, creativity and energy out there and be inspired by budding designers from all over the world and from all faiths. The competition website allows for designers to get their work in front of hundreds of thousands of people and get very valuable feedback as well as winning some great prizes. Also the end result is for us to add a new designer to our Silk Route Design team inshaAllah. We have some great prizes for the winning designer including £500, a 6 month paid internship and the design will be included into our Spring 2012 collection. Furthermore, one of our Judges Rabia Z. will be giving the winner a one hour Skype consultation session and one of her signature Shayla tops. There are also some great cash prizes for the 2nd and 3rd place designs and other great prizes for runner ups.

Fashion in Islam has always been a bit of a controversial issue in the perception of Muslims. Do you think there is any bases for that?
Yes, I think there is a basis for Muslims to be weary about the word ‘Fashion’ and the mainstream fashion scene, because there are many things that are unagreeable to Islam’s ethos and values. Revealing outfits that have a provocative allure, size zero models and the idea of publicly celebrating the physical beauty of women are not Islamic values. Sometimes, fashion labels who use ‘Islamic’ in describing themselves also conform to the pressures of creating designs that go against the basic tenants of Islam by revealing the body or by hugging the contours of the female form. Muslim women have a right to options and choice when it comes to dressing themselves and stamping their own identity on their styles. Unfortunately, there are not enough brands who provide garments that can be considered modest for most women, let alone Muslim women. Silk Route has many women customers from other faiths who have thanked us for providing a long stylish dress which they can feel comfortable and confident in.

The rest of the article you can read in the magazine.