Women want to look stylish all year round, but for Eid al-Fitr – the big celebration at the end of Ramadan – it is customary for Muslims to wear their new best clothes, and to give clothing as gifts. Using sales data from its top 12 markets during the same period in 2017, modest fashion e-tailer Modanisa.com predicts the hottest fashion trends for this Eid.
Modanisa collated the top three items bought by its customers in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Jordan, Netherlands, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, UK, and USA during Ramadan last year. The most popular purchases across all markets were dresses, tunics, abayas, shawls and evening dresses. The modest fashion brand believes they will again feature prominently in the run-up to Eid, which this year starts on the evening of 14 June.
“After fasting for a month, Eid is the perfect occasion to get dressed up to visit family and friends. It’s usual to give gifts, which is why shawls and tunics are so popular at this time of year. Women also love to splash out on themselves, with dresses their number one buy,” said Havva Kahraman, Modanisa’s brand manager.
Across America, Europe and the Middle East, shawls are likely to be the single most popular buy as a Ramadan gift. Fabric choices do vary in different countries, from viscose to cotton, combed cotton, polyester, chiffon, and lace. Plain shawls are more popular in general, but Turks and Qataris prefer patterned ones. While shawls come in every colour imaginable, most customers opt for either black or pastel shades.
Dresses are always in-demand across all twelve markets. Top Ramadan buys are those with floral designs, as well as dresses with stripes, polka dots and other patterns. In Jordan, the UK, Qatar and Turkey, many buyers opted for modest athleisure dresses, seeking to combine comfort with an element of cool. With Ramadan falling in summer, cotton remains the fabric of choice.
Tunics were in the top three purchases for all of Modanisa’s 12 key territories bar Britain, Jordan and Qatar. Most customers preferred plain tunics. Saudis and Turks opted for the sleeveless variety, as they are often worn under abayas. For the Dutch, asymmetric and buttoned tunics were popular, while the French bought buttoned crew neck tunics, and the patterned variety was favoured in Belgium.
Analysing Ramadan 2017 data also threw up other interesting fashion trends. In Britain for example, flared black skirts and bonnets were among the most popular buys in the run-up to Eid. Conservative dressers in Turkey sought out burkinis and scarves.
There was strong demand for abayas and burkinis in the Netherlands during the same period, and bonnets and scarves in France. Jordanians plumped for jumpsuits and trainers, while Qataris splashed out on skinny and bell-bottomed trousers, and in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, arm-bands and scarves were all the rage.