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  • Smart-ening up the hijab: the materiality of contemporary British Muslim veiling in the physical and the digital

Suterwalla, Shehnaz, 2017, Book Section, Smart-ening up the hijab: the materiality of contemporary British Muslim veiling in the physical and the digital In: Almila, Anna-Mari and Inglis, David, (eds.) The Ashgate Research Companion to Veils and Veiling Practices. Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Farnham, England, pp. 222-228. ISBN 9781315613734

Abstract or Description:

The contemporary Muslim hijab (veil) in Britain takes its form through myriad material expressions including individual style shaped around current fashion trends. Yet its religio-cultural history and connections with activist youth identity politics makes it a contentious object that provokes much debate and interpretation. This essay concentrates on the hijab's materiality and affect: specifically it explores how the material handling of a piece of cloth or scarf, how its feel and its texture, allows Muslim women to create a Muslim identity through embodiment based on their feelings, desires and subjectivity. The essay explores the manipulation of the cloth, its folding and draping, and how this transforms a wearer’s identity into a Muslim ‘look’ for a Muslim ‘self’. The discussion unravels the ways in which the crafting of the hijab exposes a wearer’s skill and dexterity to create different affects; it also considers technological innovation and tech-inspired design change as factors that create new opportunities for Muslim women to subvert stereotypes and fashion systems though ‘smart' hijab wearing.

Official URL: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/978131561373...
Subjects: Other > Historical and Philosophical studies > V300 History by topic > V370 History of Design
School or Centre: School of Arts & Humanities
Identification Number or DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315613734
Date Deposited: 16 Dec 2016 15:33
Last Modified: 25 Nov 2020 18:36
URI: https://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/id/eprint/2481
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