EDMONTON – For Edmonton Muslim designer Wedad Amiri, her fashion line is not only about finding suitable, modest clothing for women.

“There’s this narrative that we have no rights, we’re oppressed and all of this,” she told Global News.

“So I wanted to change the narrative and show Muslim women are doing great things in society.”

The designing career started when Amiri struggled to find clothing that was stylish, affordable and modest.

Amiri was going to a lot of weddings and it was costing a lot of money.

“It was so hard to find a full-length dress with sleeves and fully lined,” she explains.

So, she created her own fashion line. Four years later, Edmonton’s Afflatus Hijab has customers all over the world.

“I’ve sold to Europe, the Middle East, throughout the US and all over Canada,” said the young designer.

Afflatus Hijab will be featured on the runway at Maarkah New York Fashion Week on Sept. 10.

The event website puts Amiri in good company, proclaiming: “An elite selection of international celebrity designers from across the world will present their exquisite new haute-couture and Modest collections.”

More than Fashion

Though the business was first focused on finding suitable clothing for Muslim women, it developed to celebrate Muslim women successes and struggles.

Amiri has named some of her pieces after women suffering from mental illness. She uses the example of a long, sleeveless red vest called the Nakita Valerio.

Valerio is an Edmonton writer and social advocate who holds a master’s degree and is on the executive of the Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council.

Her struggle with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and C-PTSD is detailed on the Afflatus Hijab website, along with this advice:  “You are resilient. You are still here. See how incredible you are, according to your own development.”

“She helped a lot of people with her story,” says Amiri.

Other pieces are named after women dealing with bipolar disorder and anxiety. Other designs are name after Indigenous and Muslim women who Amiri considers trailblazers.

These are women like Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American Muslim legislator in the US, and Doaa Elghobashy, an Olympian from Egypt who garnered global praise after competing in beach volleyball in her hijab.

“It’s been pretty amazing,” Amiri said.

“We’re a small business here in Edmonton and it’s interesting to see that people from around the world come to see my clothing line on my website.”