The Realm of the Unspeakable

"[There is] a radical difference between interior and exterior, which relfects the split between the intimate and the social life of the metropolitan being: outside, the realm of exhange, money, and masks; inside, the realm of the inalienable, the nonexchangeable, and the unspeakable."

(The Architecture of Fashion, p.210)

This is another beautiful quote that is used to describe architecture but can unquestionably be applied to fashion and modesty in Islam.

I especially enjoy the way the quote describes the "inside", "the realm of the inalienable, the nonexhangeable, and the unspeakable". I wonder what thoughts this invokes in you because for me, the inalienable, the nonexhangeable, and the unspeakable in realtion to our private lives is a beautiful thought for me. The unspeakable is not a negative thing; something which is so beautiful, one would not dare to articulate its beauty in fear that words could not do it justice.

Protecting Sexuality in Design

"a cauldron of sexuality behind apparently innocent surfaces"

(The Architecture of Fashion p.198)

Personally, when I read this quote, I automatically thought of the designs of many courtyards in the United Arab Emirates. The exterior facades or "innocent surfaces" hide and protect the beautifully decorated interior designs.
















The arabesque designs and flowing tile work can be associated with the "cauldron of sexuality" that the quote suggests.

Similarly to architecture, the concept of the hijab can also be related to this quote. A "innocent surface" of basic cloth behind the "cauldron of sexuality" which, to me, is a beautiful description of women. Describing sexuality as powerful and beautiful thing that is protected by an "innocent surface".

I also want to note that I took this quote from the book, The Architecture of Fashion, and this book does not talk about fashion and architecture of the Middle East. It focuses more on design in the West. This is important to note because I want to emphasis the fact that our concepts of sexuality, and protecting it is not unique to any part of the world. It is a shared view, different cultures have evolved to express this in different ways.

Women's Barrier in Mosques

With the 5th season of the Little Mosque on the Prairie premiering in January 2010, I thought I would bring up an interesting architectural topic relating to one of the shows first episodes.

The issue of the Women's barrier in Mosques...

In episode 2 (season 1), the newly formed mosque must decide if they should or should not have a wall separating the men and women during prayer.

The two main characters had different ideas:

Baber, the more conservative Muslim character, first initiates the construction of a partition wall:

Rayan, the Muslimah feminist character, feels that there is no need for a wall and that having the women sit in the back of the prayer hall is a sufficient barrier.

In the end, there is a partition wall constructed but it is smaller, with a slight screen, and women have the choice to either site behind it or sit to the side of it.

It is an interesting compromise. What do you think about the physical partition in mosques?

Islamic Costume/Facade

"architectural styles [are] fashionable facades that are literally 'nailed on' to the structure, as mere 'costume'."

(The Architecture of Fashion, p.189)

If we were to remove the plasterwork and tile work on the facade of this wall, would we still be able to identify this building as a facade of a mosque in Northern Africa?

Book Recommendation: Architecture in Fashion

Architecture in Fashion by Deborah Fausch

This book is very inspiring to my whole intention for this blog. Although the essays in this book speak mostly about western architecture and its relationship to western fashion, the theories are still applicable.

There are numerous quotes from this book which continue to inspire me and will be the premise for many of my future posts.

Istanbul- The Silhouette

While visiting the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, I noticed an interesting combination of fabric and architecture. Covering one of the main doors of the mosque is a plastic tarp that is used to create a smaller doorway (as opposed to the original 7 meter tall door). The need for a smaller opening is probably to keep birds out of the prayer hall as well as to protect against rain.

The interesting aspect of this piece of fabric is the way they chose to accent the original frame of the door with a floral design.
The green color of the tarp is very prominent and makes a very distinct impression on the overall aesthetic of the mosque.

I want to show how this relates to fashion...

It is interesting to look at the color change in the abaya. The lighter cream color obviously highlights a thinner and more pronounced silhouette of the female figure. This is attractive to us because the female figure is, of course, beautiful and highlighting it with a subtle outline does not go unappreciated.

It relates to the above photo of the tarp at the blue mosque with the use of an embordered design which highlights the frame of the original door.

It is another example of how fashion and architecture is related. We can start to take elements of architecture and apply it to fashion or vice versa.

Do you think it is less modest to have these subtle outlines of a female silhouette on an abaya?

Modesty of Architecture- Form and Facade

Modesty can be expressed in many different ways and, of particular interest to me is how it is applied to Architecture.
Similar to clothing, the form of a building expresses a lot about a place and can look particularly extravagant or simple.
I want to look at two examples of architecture in the Arabian gulf, the Islamic Art Museum in Doha and the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Both of these buildings are associated with Islam and the representation of each countries culture.
How do you feel about ornamentation on buildings? Do buildings need to be modest when representing Islam?

Islamic Art Museum in Doha:

Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi:

Book Recommendation: The Fashion of Architecture

The Fashion of Architecture by Bradley Quinn



This is the book which was referenced in yesterday's posting:

"Architecture is making its presence felt in cutting-edge fashion. The pliable metals, membrane structures, lightweight glasses and plastics used in building construction are creeping onto the catwalk. As they do so, their impact on recent textile developments has produced fabrics that enable clothing to act as individual climate-controlled environments that can exchange information with embedded sensors, resulting in wearable ‘dwellings’ that act as both shelter and clothing. At the same time, architects are borrowing the techniques of pleating, stapling, cutting and draping from traditional tailoring to design buildings that are flexible, interactive, inflatable and even portable."

Introduction to Modesty In Vogue

This blog is intended to discuss issues about Modesty and Design, particularly in fashion and architecture in relation to Islam and Islamic culture.

Some people may ask how I can discuss these four things in one blog (modesty, fashion, architecture, and Islam) and that is a reasonable question.

For one, Fashion and Architecture are both intimately related through design. Fashion is the design of clothing to protect the body and Architecture is the design of a structure to shelter and protect space. These two types of design are both used as a basic part of life but are also representative of an idea, culture, personal image, and function.

Secondly, Modesty, or Haya in Islam is a basic part of life in Islamic culture and can be exhibited in many different ways but most notably in behavior and even dress. The hijab is a primary example of how women in Islam represent their modesty. Modesty can also be exhibited through other forms of dress but also architecture. When talking about modesty in architecture, especially in Islamic societies, one can image the traditional courtyard houses of the Arabian Gulf where the walls and exterior facades of buildings are minimal and purely functional while the interior of the buildings are decorated in ornate tile work.

Throughout this blog, I don't always plan on discussing all four things at once in every post, but my main focus is on how we represent our Modesty or Haya in relation to design and our aesthetic world.