Hijabers: Potrait of Consumerist Moslem Women

“Duh, itu apa sih kepala kok dililit-lilit?”

”Ini di-gimana-in pake nya? kok bisa gini?”

”Itu jilbab ya mbo yang rapi-rapi aja, pake jilbab sampe dua tiga lapis sekaligus gitu...”

Have you ever said those statements when you saw a young moslem girl using such an extraordinary model of veil? Or unintentionally have heard someone said so? I guess, realize it or not, we have ever experienced it. It is because the usage of hijab is now in trend. It is phenomenal. Not only in particular formal occasion, the “out of the box” and eccentric way of hijab use is also worn in campus and even in hangout places, such as malls and cafes.  Hijaber Moslem girls, whom most of them are youngster, are extremely creative on hijab and modification of headscarf. The models of the hijab are also incredibly various from the simplest one until the most complicated and surprising one which can be so much astonishing, and make you frowning then ask or say previous statements above.

HIJABS

JILBABS

Actually, what is exactly the difference between hijab and jilbab? Many people which I have already asked about did not notice the difference. However, some of my friends who are the members of Hijabers Community, a community which is keen on fashion for Moslem women, could answer it short, simple, yet clear. For them, there is a distinct difference between hijab and jilbab. Jilbab is usually considered as “jilbab segitiga” which is ordinarily used by most of Moslem women. Meanwhile, hijab is a headscarf of veil which has been modified and added with some accessories.  “It is sorta winding headscarf,” one of them said boldly.

What makes hijab being so much fond of? This hijab phenomenon is triggered by technology and information. Hana Tajima, a English fashion designer, popularized it. She liked to upload the trendy and uniquely fashionable hijab tutorial on YouTube. From there, a lot of Moslem girls started to follow the new way of using hijab. Not only international designers or public figures, in Indonesia, local designers and celebrities began to show their existence in using hijab, for instance Dian Pelangi, Puput Melati, and so on. The new use of hijab was also expanding when Ramadhan tv serial or sinetron ramadhan was just like competing each other to show the use of hijab on their female casts. Sinetron made hijab which was considered unfamiliar and global, became much more familiar and local. This made hijabers not only comes from upper middle class people who can easily update hijab style development trough internet, but it is expanded to larger scale of class.

Everyone wants recognition or affirmation within ourselves or from other people, and do the Moslem women. We can not deny that each of women wants to be considered beautiful and gorgeous. As for postmodern, beauty is a diverse product, and the most eccentric, dysfunctional, outrageous is the most beautiful one, as long it is the disparity of something that has not been existed before. Before this hijabers phenomenon, the use of hijab or headscarf for Moslem women seemed boring and dull since there wasn’t any kind of variation in the way they wore it. Then, these extraordinary various hijab styles were appeared, giving the new energy and inspirations for those who wore hijabs. Those styles were ingeniously different yet eye-catching. They were considered more fashionable than the ordinary hijab or headscarf for Moslem women. Those eye-catching colour and out-of-box style of hijab can be put together with other up-to-date and trendy fashion items and dresses, not only Moslem wear like gamis, but the fashion items which we can usually see on the fashion magazines. That makes the new definition of “beauty” for Moslem women. According to Baudrillard, consuming product is similar to consuming symbols and image. This point is also related to the usage of hijab nowadays for Moslem women. Obviously, hijab will give them a higher value in term of beauty than other ordinary Moslem women who don’t wear that extraordinary hijab styles. Self branding as “up-to-date” “sophisticated”, and “chic” will be stitched on them. Those labels, clearly, give them prestige and pride on their society due to their capability of being fashionable and standing boldly different among other ordinary Moslem girls.

Desire to be differently fashionable is also depicted on the differences between hijab and jilbab.  Literally, hijab is the border cloth between man and woman in Moslem society. Hijab is actually a cloth to cover some forbidden body area in Islam (it is usually called Aurat). Hence, there is no difference between hijab and jilbab.  However, nowadays, there is a shifting on the definition. Frequently, hijab  is the term of veil of headscarf with extraordinary shapes. Hijab is differed for sake of identity and self-branding of the hijabers. They want to be considered and seen as “unique” and “different”.  

Example of Tausiah and Bazaar Event

Desire to be always fashionable has to be backed up with some brand-new and fresh fashion items. It gives a tendency for hijabes to buy the fashion items compulsively. As it has been said by Faurschou that postmodern people is the people who is triggered to create the endless desire of consuming.  Not only the hijab or the headscarfs, hijabes, frequently, buy some accessories as the complement of the hijab, for instance rings, bracelets, brooches, necklaces, headbands, and so on and so forth. They buy that not for the needs of covering their body parts as it is commanded in Moslem belief, yet it is only for their pleasure. A great number of online shops which sell some hijab and accessories become the indicator of this phenomenon.

Not only in shopping centre and online shops, the quran reading gathering (or pengajian in Indonesia) is also completed with bazaar section in it. the quran reading which is usually held by the hijaber community,  is not the way to listen on preach and the tausi’ah  anymore, but it is also the place for shopping! Ironic is the girls recurrently looking forward to the bazaar which provides them with promos and discounts much more than the tausi’ah  itself.    

This phenomenon shows there is a shifting of consuming meaning. Clothes, or hijab and accessories in this case, they are no longer functioned as the body (aurat) cover, but they are for identity matters and self-branding issue. Moslem women attempt to stick some particular labels on themselves through the use of hijab. The beautiful fashionable and up-to-date Moslem woman is the identity which might appear as the same time of the title of hijabers comes to them.

References:

Banard, Malcomn. 2011. Fashion Sebagai Komunikasi: Cara Mengomunikasikan Identitas Sosial, Seksual, Kelas dan Gender. Jalasutra: Yogyakarta

Soedjatmiko, Haryanto. 2008. Saya Berbelanja, Maka Saya Ada: Ketika Konsumsi dan Desain Menjadi Gaya HIdup Konsumeris. Jalasutra: Yogyakarta