Voting Goes Live in Silk Route’s International Jilbab Design Competition: StyleIn!

Like the strap line of their You Tube video which aired on UK TV, they have exhibited that Muslims and non-Muslims from ‘California to Kuala Lumpur and from Istanbul to Johannesburg’ have a desire and aspiration to design for the modest taste of millions of Muslim women around the world.

Competition organiser Mohammed Amin gives us an insight into some of the entrants and their designs; ‘It has been an absolutely amazing journey as we have had designers from Chile, Romania, Russia and Australia submitting their great designs. All of them have a unique take on modesty and a different style and flavour. One design that really blew me away was the Jilbab designed for snowboarders, it was beautifully drawn and technically perfect, I could tell the designer was from a professional background and the love for snowboarding made sense when I realised she is from Russia. What was further amazing is that she was able to perfectly interpret the Islamic ethos of modesty without being a Muslim herself. Likewise we have had many other designers from other faiths that have become good friends of mine through the journey of explaining to them how best to draw for a dominantly Muslim viewing audience’.

Designers have been spreading the word far and wide and getting family and friends to come and leave messages of encouragement and support and designers have also been posting on each other’s designs showing their appreciation and support for one another. It exhibits a community who have really grasped the spirit and essence of what Silk Route is trying to achieve when Mohammed says that it is about ‘championing the creativity, talent and energy of the next generation of budding designers’.

Designs can still be submitted until the 31/08/11 so if you always wanted a go at becoming a fashion designer then here is your big break.

Public voting will start on the 14/08/11 and will continue until the 14/09/11 after which the 20 designs with the most votes from the public will go through the Judges stage. Our esteemed panel of Judges will also have the chance to choose a ‘Wild Card’; a design which they liked but did not get voted in by the public. They will then take a few days to deliberate and choose their top ten with the winner being announced on the 24/09/11.

To find out more information on how to submit your designs or to vote for your favourite please visit the website: 
http://www.SilkRouteStylein.com

Mohammed says that ‘the success of the competition so far could not have been achieved without the help of all our Media Partners, especially Islamic Arts Magazine through whom we have had some very talented Romanian designers submit their exquisite work, IAM’s support has been priceless’.

All photos: courtesy of Silk Route