Modest fashion has become an important avenue for women to respect their cultures, while expressing themselves through their clothes. With untapped potential, Founder of The Modist dives into the opportunities in this underserved market.

Modest dressing is a lifestyle for the greater half of the world. In order for brands to succeed in this space, they need to understand the different types of consumer types within this market.

On International Women’s Day 2017, Ghizlan Guenez started The Modist – the first global luxury ecommerce platform where leading fashion brands were curated for women who dress modestly. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the e-tailer ceased operations last year. While Ghizlan’s chapter with The Modist is over, she’s got plenty of takeaways from her career, including what she’s doing now..

In our latest unEDITED: Inside Retail episode, Ghizlan delves into her entrepreneurial journey, including unique insights into the growing and versatile modest fashion market.

Key takeaways:

• If you’re looking to start your own brand, be mindful about solving a problem, understanding your customer and having a winning mindset. This combination allows any entrepreneur to overcome hurdles they may face with resilience.
• Modest fashion is a way of life for many women. It’s a spectrum of women that dress in a demure way. This can be religious women who believe in their religious faith, or it’s a woman who has a style preference and just likes to cover up.
• For events like Eid and Ramadan, it’s important to have a strong knowledge of that customer and what they’re looking for. Retailers need a presence in that region to be amongst the consumer and truly understand what they want in their wardrobes.
• There is progress being made around the world to empower women. In Saudi Arabia, women are now allowed to drive their own cars and will be able to set up their own businesses. This will have a huge impact on the demand for modest fashion as more women will be going out and working.

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