Excerpt:
San Francisco’s De Young Museum is currently home to the first major U.S. museum exhibition exploring Muslim modest fashion. Organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, “Contemporary Muslim Fashions” examines the nuanced, complex and diverse world of Muslim dress codes, with a focus on the Middle East, Southeast Asia and diasporic communities throughout Europe and the United States.
“So often a museum looks back and does a historical overview, but this is really an emerging sector,” said Jill D’Alessandro, curator in charge of costume and textile arts at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
“Contemporary Muslim Fashions” opens with a hallway lined with the front pages of fashion magazines, including Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Scarf, Glam Malaysia and Vogue Arabia. The hallway leads to the first room, where four black and white looks are showcased on mannequins.