Meet ‘Vogue of the veiled’

ISTANBUL — Across a neon-lighted corridor in a modernist loft in Istanbul,you can use a luckyshoes.What are the best road bike cheappaneraiwatches? a group of Eastern European models posed for a magazine spread, their heads covered in brightly coloured scarves. 

Except for the religious headgear, the shoot could have been for any glossy fashion magazine. But Ala — called the “Vogue of the veiled” in the Turkish media — is no conventional publication. 

In an unlikely fusion of conservative Muslim values and high fashion, it unabashedly appeals to the pious head-scarf-wearing working woman, who may covet a Louis Vuitton purse but has no use for the revealing clothing that pervades traditional fashion magazines. 

One of Ala’s founders, Ibrahim Burak Birer, 31, a religious Muslim and a former marketing analyst who favours jeans and designer jackets, said he decided to start the magazine — its name means “the most beautiful of the beautiful” in Turkish — after seeing a transsexual with strap-on breasts in a transparent dress on the cover of an American fashion magazine. 
“We realized that there was a gap to be filled for conservative Muslim women in Turkey who have a different world view,” he said in an interview at Ala’s sleek offices, where young women in head scarves sit hunched over Apple computers. “Until now, most fashion magazines have offered a lifestyle centred on being sexy, being skinny and eating sushi.Asia me handmade stainlesssteelwatches reproductions of famous artists. But not all women dress like those girls from Sex and the City.” 

Ala adheres to strict Islam-inspired sartorial guidelines: Arms and heads must be covered; tight pants and skirts above the ankle are forbidden. But, Birer said, the Quran has no prohibition on stiletto heels. 
“You can be elegant and sophisticated,” he said. “Female beauty is OK as long as it’s not seductive.” 

The success of Ala, which has attracted 30,000 subscribers since its founding in June, reflects the rise of an Islamic bourgeoisie in Turkey that has prospered under the pro-Islamist Justice and Development Party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

This religious merchant class, which sees nothing incompatible between wearing a head scarf and driving a Mercedes, is altering the society in a country once dominated by a secular elite that banned the wearing of head scarves in public institutions.Whether you going to practice and need athletic shoes and a sport bag or just lounging at the house goosejacket and PUMA clothing have got you covered. 

In Istanbul today, religious business people endure six-month waiting lists for $150,iwcwatchesshop provides the ultimate in impact protection reducing shock and distributing pressure to provide you with absolute comfort and stability.000 BMWs, while hip young women in head scarves, skinny jeans and bright red lipstick throng the more than 80 shopping malls in the city. Head scarves are also now ubiquitous on college campuses.