Hijab Fashion in the Netherlands: Designers, Creative Work and Personal Style

Exploring hijab fashion in the Netherlands means looking at more than a scarf shape or a list of seasonal colours. The interesting questions concern people: what they want from their clothes, which ideas they develop and how they choose to present themselves.

A designer's account can explain a detail that is easy to miss in a photograph. A wearer can describe why a combination suits her. An exhibition can bring several interpretations together. Following those different kinds of work offers inspiration while leaving room for your own faith, preferences and everyday life.

Faith, fashion and personal meaning have a longer public history

A February 2006 television record held by Beeld & Geluid documents discussion of Mijn hoofddoek, an exhibition at the Amsterdams Historisch Museum. The archive describes headscarves displayed alongside video accounts of what wearing them meant to individual Muslim women. Both religion and fashion formed part of the exhibition.

The programme record also identifies an interview with a student who had contributed to the project. This places a wearer's explanation alongside the objects themselves: the cloth had a personal history as well as an appearance.

That dated example makes the subject richer than a story of fashion suddenly discovering hijab. Dutch public discussion was already making space for women to explain their clothing in their own terms.

It also suggests a rewarding way to approach an older scarf. Ask who chose it, what occasion it accompanied and why it was kept. A detail that seems ordinary in a display may become significant when its owner explains the relationship behind it.

A scarf can carry relationships as well as a colour palette

The University of Amsterdam's summary of R. Arzu Ünal and Annelies Moors's 2012 research on Dutch-Turkish headscarves describes a connection between religious commitment, fashionable appearance and other forms of belonging. Fabric and shape could also express professionalism, status or cultural affiliation.

The authors draw attention to scarves received as gifts or kept as souvenirs. An attachment to a particular scarf may therefore continue even when its pattern is no longer someone's newest preference.

This helps explain why a wardrobe cannot be understood entirely through trends. Something worn regularly, something saved for a celebration and something kept because of the giver can have different values.

For your own wardrobe, that leaves room for several kinds of choice. You might enjoy trying a new colour while continuing to treasure an older scarf. You can also appreciate another woman's fashionable appearance without deciding that her religious reasons have become less important. The study concerns particular Dutch-Turkish experiences; it offers a perspective to consider, rather than a description of every wearer.

Local businesses grew from particular clothing needs

Loubna Sadoq: bringing a headscarf into a different retail setting

In a February 2017 NOS interview, designer Loubna Sadoq described a milestone: her scarves were being presented for ten days at De Bijenkorf in Amstelveen after she won an entrepreneurship competition. Customers had encouraged her to enter.

Sadoq spoke about fashion and modesty as compatible interests. She also described criticism of the way scarves appeared in her photographs and argued for women supporting one another's choices. Her own wearing practice, as she explained it then, was personal and varied by setting.

The example brings several experiences together: designing an object, finding an audience and responding to expectations about how it should be worn. Commercial visibility does not remove those differences of opinion.

For someone exploring a designer's work, a temporary presentation can be an interesting historical moment without becoming a current shopping recommendation. What endures here is the specificity of the account: a named designer, a particular opportunity and her explanation of the place she wanted scarves to have in fashion.

Asuman Eroglu: a working wardrobe prompted a new direction

WNL's November 2018 account of Asuman Eroglu describes a different starting point. An economics teacher, she had struggled to find scarves whose decoration suited her working life. She began sourcing pieces from Turkey, wrote about them and developed a clothing business after readers showed interest.

Her explanation was about a recognisable daily requirement: she wanted coverage and a polished appearance that felt appropriate to her own work. The features she found excessive were a matter of personal preference and context.

That is a useful distinction when looking at a restrained outfit. Simplicity may be a considered choice about a person's day. A quiet scarf, for example, can leave the emphasis on a jacket or an overall silhouette, while another wearer may enjoy making the scarf the main decorative element.

Eroglu's account also shows how a specific frustration can become a clear design or selection brief. Describing what you would like to change in your own outfit is often more helpful than searching for an entirely new style identity.

Hajar L'Merrouni: learning about materials and colour

Amsterdam-based Hajar L'Merrouni told Ellen Hensbergen at LINDA in January 2021 that she had begun wearing hijab in 2019 and struggled to find the colours, fabrics and guidance she wanted. She took a textile course and visited international fairs while developing Maison Hijab.

The interview described an initial jersey scarf offered in five colours, alongside magnets. L'Merrouni wanted the headscarf to receive the same attention as the rest of an outfit and hoped to build a community around that interest.

The significant detail is the work between noticing a need and presenting a collection. Studying material and comparing colours gave her a way to turn a personal preference into an actual product proposal.

You can take a smaller version of that approach when considering your own scarves. Identify what you wish to understand better: the shade beside a favourite coat, the appearance of a particular fold or the balance of texture across an outfit. A precise question makes advice from a maker more useful.

Nada Merrachi: individual style, a community and practical expectations

In Rokaya's February 2024 FunX interview, Nada Merrachi explained that she designed the clothing she felt was missing from her own wardrobe. She wanted women who enjoyed fashion and fuller coverage to be recognised as people with careers, interests and their own reasons for dressing.

She also discussed criticism about prices and availability, and how personally she took responses to a business in which she was closely involved. Her account included enthusiasm for the community and the pressures of meeting its expectations.

Those two parts belong together. Feeling represented by a label can matter, while a customer still needs an item that suits her circumstances. A designer's ambitions and a shopper's budget are both real considerations.

Merrachi's comments provide one founder's explanation of what she wanted her work to achieve. They also leave a useful question for anyone following a label: which particular design appeals to you, and why? That answer can stay personal even when a brand has a large, enthusiastic audience.

Stable basics and expressive layers

Speaking to Zoé Terouinard for ANCRÉ in March 2025, Merrachi described the difficulty of recognising her own style when she began covering her hair. She explained an interest in keeping a consistent foundation of basics and adding pieces that could be layered for their visual appeal.

She also wanted her campaigns and spaces to welcome women with different relationships to modest dress. The interview connected clothing with a wish to participate in familiar fashion settings without being reduced to the fact of wearing a headscarf.

The layering idea can be appreciated as a particular design intention. A dependable base gives another garment something to work with: an outer layer may change the outline, introduce a new texture or draw attention to a colour combination.

You need not adopt a complete label's aesthetic to understand that relationship. Look at what the added piece contributes. If it has a clear visual purpose, it becomes easier to decide whether the idea belongs in your own wardrobe or is something you simply enjoy seeing.

Why a physical place can matter to a designer

In a June 2024 FashionUnited Q&A with Caitlyn Terra, Merrachi explained the thinking behind a temporary Antwerp shop. She wanted customers there to have a physical place to see and try the collection, as customers could in Amsterdam.

The conversation distinguished that temporary arrangement from a possible permanent shop, which she described as dependent on how the pop-up performed. Other expansion and production ideas were plans expressed at the time.

This connects Dutch creative work with a wider European audience through a specific business decision. It does not require the idea of one shared European look. A collection can travel while individual customers bring different preferences to it.

The account is also a reminder of what a visit can offer: seeing the relationship between garments and asking questions about what is actually in front of you. If you hope to visit a place mentioned in an older interview, establish its present arrangements first. A dated pop-up account is a record of that project, rather than an enduring invitation.

Personal style can begin with the clothes you already enjoy

Binta Diallo: choose the outfit, then consider the scarf

In Gaby Boterkooper's May 2020 LINDA interview, Binta Diallo, then a nurse in Heerlen, described her style as a mixture of polished and more casual influences. She liked combinations such as a blazer and heels with relaxed trousers.

Her suggestion was to put together the clothing first, then choose a headscarf that worked with it. She also preferred buying individual pieces she could combine repeatedly, and adapting inspiration from people who dressed differently from her.

That approach gives the scarf a relationship with the whole outfit. You might want it to continue a colour, soften a contrast or introduce the only pattern. The order of choosing is a practical preference you can try.

Diallo's account also leaves room for experimentation after beginning hijab. She described still discovering what suited her. There is value in making one successful combination and returning to it, while allowing another idea to remain unfinished until it feels right.

Loubna Sadoq's HICAP: rethinking a familiar combination

In Emma Day's March 2018 Emirates Woman interview, Sadoq explained a design prompted by seeing women combine a scarf with a baseball cap. She had noticed that the two pieces did not always coordinate in fabric, colour or print.

Her HICAP joined a cap and scarf into one design. She described making one scarf end longer so it could be brought over the shoulder, and an extended search for a suitable manufacturer.

This is a particularly clear example of observation becoming a design detail. The longer side changes the possible drape; combining the components changes the way the outfit is assembled. Those are identifiable decisions.

For a reader interested in casual styling, the question is which relationship appeals to you: the peaked shape, the combination of structured and flowing parts, or the way a single colour connects them. Appreciating that construction does not establish how a particular item will feel on you. It gives you a more exact starting point for looking at it.

Meryem Slimani and Najate Leklye: style across generations

In Phemia Demosthenous's interview for Metal, photographer and stylist Meryem Slimani explained how her mother, Najate Leklye, gradually became central to her work. Occasional shared photographs developed into a styled collaboration for Rotterdam label Susan Bijl in 2018, followed by further portraits.

Slimani described Moroccan culture and the hip-hop she encountered while growing up in the Netherlands as lasting influences. She wanted her older, visibly Muslim mother to occupy a space where she felt such women were rarely represented.

Her account gives the photographs a relationship and a creative history. Colour and styling are connected to the people making the images, including the mother's willingness to take part.

It also expands the range of people worth looking to for fashion inspiration. An older relative may have a distinctive way of combining colour or a collection of clothes with unexpected possibilities. Taking an interest in those choices can be a conversation between generations, with each person contributing her own taste.

The mother's preferences remain part of the picture

In Maya Toebat's February 2022 De Standaard interview, mother and daughter discussed their combinations in more detail. Leklye described becoming interested in trainers and colourful sportswear; Slimani recalled her mother's earlier love of bright clothing and coordinated headscarves.

They also explained how an unexpected combination could be tried and rejected. Slimani gave the example of placing an older sleeveless dress over a newer long-sleeved one. Her mother was initially uncertain, then liked the result once she had put it on.

The pleasure in the example comes from discovery with someone who knows your taste. It also depends on being able to say that an idea does not feel right.

If you enjoy experimenting with a friend or relative, begin with one familiar piece and one different pairing. Notice what each of you likes about the result. An outfit can become more interesting through collaboration while the final choice remains with the person wearing it.

Art can explore ideas beyond an everyday wardrobe

Perrine Philomeen's Hijab in Transition

In an April 2019 interview with CNN Arabic, Dutch artist Perrine Philomeen explained her Hijab in Transition project. A woman wearing a black headscarf with an Adidas cap at a Rotterdam exhibition had caught her attention.

Working as Kids of the Universe, Philomeen developed a photographic project around bold colour, print and shape. She described wanting an urban, futuristic appearance and an exploration of cultural influences meeting one another. The project began in 2018.

Her account makes the distinction between a creative proposition and a forecast clear. An artist can imagine possibilities without claiming that everyone will dress that way, or that an image demonstrates the comfort of a garment.

You can therefore enjoy an experimental look at different levels. Its colour relationship might interest you even when its entire shape does not suit your wardrobe. Or the work may be most valuable as an invitation to reconsider what you expect a headscarf image to look like.

Schiedam brought fashion and contemporary art together

The Stedelijk Museum Schiedam's 2019–20 Modest Fashion exhibition brought clothing into conversation with contemporary art. Guest curators Rajae El Mouhandiz and Alexandra van Dongen worked on the presentation, while designer Said Mahrouf selected fashion looks and created three pieces for the exhibition.

The museum described a range extending from restrained designs to elaborate colour and pattern. Its stated emphasis was women's creativity and freedom to choose how they presented themselves, including women with different religious and non-religious reasons for fuller coverage.

This was an international exhibition presented in the Netherlands. The range of contributors matters: it gives a Dutch cultural setting for several perspectives without making every participating designer Dutch.

Placing garments beside art also changes the questions a viewer can ask. Alongside the appeal of a colour or cut, there may be a question about who makes an image, whose experience it communicates or how a familiar piece of clothing is interpreted. A museum can make room for those questions without requiring one agreed answer.

A visitor's interpretation can add another perspective

In her October 2019 Puntkomma review, Linde Varossieau described how the Schiedam exhibition complicated the idea of covering. She discussed different reasons for coverage and the way Alia Ali's use of patterned cloth could communicate identity while obscuring a figure.

Varossieau also raised her own question about the exhibition's focus on women's perspectives, wondering what comparison with men's clothing might contribute. She acknowledged that her position shaped her response and wondered how a visitor who dressed for religious reasons would experience the work.

That is a useful example of criticism remaining open. The reviewer identified something specific, explained her interpretation and recognised that another viewer might notice a different issue.

When looking at fashion in a gallery, give yourself the same freedom to be interested and uncertain. You can admire a particular arrangement while asking how the surrounding explanation shapes its meaning. A thoughtful response becomes more valuable when it stays connected to the work in front of you.

Local participation added everyday voices

The museum's separate account of Modest Fashion & Mijn Schiedam describes a room developed with contributions from 25 local residents. Photographer Maarten van der Kamp made portraits of designers and women from the area, accompanied by their perspectives in text and audio.

Jonathan Christopher, Kionna van Aanholt and Saliha Bouiadi contributed contrasting outfits. The room also included opportunities to try clothing, watch videos and take part in workshops. A clothing exchange formed part of the installation.

These details show how a large exhibition could make space for local responses. Clothing appeared as something people discussed, handled and related to their own lives.

The project offers an idea for considering participation more broadly. A conversation about style can include the person who alters a garment, someone who keeps family clothing and someone who enjoys trying a new combination. Their contributions may be different from those of a professional designer and still help explain why particular clothes matter. The museum account describes that historical project; it does not establish an ongoing programme.

Public discussion made room for questions about choice

An Arminius event announcement for November 2019 set out a related Rotterdam symposium about fashion, feminism and women's freedom. The programme named Amal Alhaag as chair and listed creative and research contributors including El Mouhandiz, Reina Lewis, Mona Haydar, Slimani and Philomeen.

The programme asked how clothing and ideas about freedom relate to one another. It presented art and fashion as ways of approaching that conversation, rather than assuming that a particular amount of coverage explains a woman's life.

The announced questions are valuable because they make disagreement discussable. One person may be interested in religious practice, another in artistic expression and another in how people are treated. Those interests can meet without becoming identical.

For a reader, the invitation is to listen for what the speaker is actually describing. A designer's intention, a wearer's experience and a scholarly interpretation answer different questions. Giving each its proper space makes a conversation about Dutch hijab fashion more informative and less dependent on a single slogan.

Bring a considered idea into your own style

You do not need a new wardrobe to respond to an interesting design. Begin by describing one thing you enjoy: a calm area of colour near the face, the contrast between a structured jacket and a softer scarf, or the way a small print connects several shades.

Then work with a familiar outfit. For example, if you usually wear a plain dark coat and a neutral scarf, try one alternative scarf colour before changing the rest. You will be able to see what that single choice contributes. If you prefer the original arrangement, you have still learnt something about your taste.

Keep the purpose of the outfit in view. A look for a photograph, a family celebration and an ordinary working day may ask different things of you. An idea can remain interesting even when you adapt it considerably for your own plans.

When you want to learn more about a maker, look for the explanation of a particular piece or collection. A named material study, a described alteration or a clear account of a collaboration gives you something concrete to consider. For broader help with the relationship between creativity, personal choice and representation, our guide to Islamic fashion today develops those questions further.

Choose how much you want to participate. You might visit an exhibition, read a designer interview, talk about clothes with a relative or quietly enjoy a new combination at home. None requires you to speak for a whole community. Your own response can be specific, modest in scale and worthwhile.

A richer picture of Dutch hijab fashion

The most rewarding picture is made from particular people and projects: a working wardrobe that prompts a business, a designer refining a collection, a mother and daughter enjoying clothing together, or a museum giving local residents space to respond.

These accounts offer different possibilities for style and belonging. They also leave room for personal boundaries and changing preferences. You can appreciate the creative work, learn from a specific detail and decide what deserves a place in your own life.