- 2 weeks ago
No matter your cultural or religious background, you have some conception of what's okay and not okay to wear in public. For most of us, the rules are pretty relaxed: Cleavage is usually fine, but you should probably keep your nipples covered. Pelvage might be fun to spot on the red carpet, but it's not so practical for everyday life. For orthodox Jews, modesty is much more specific. Each creed or sect has its own strict clothing guidelines that pertain to fabric, colors, length, and cut. For most, that means elbows are covered; necklines stay high; long, conservative skirts are a must; and married women cover their hair.
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00:02New York City. It's loud, fast and colourful. It's filled with every kind of style imaginable.
00:09I'm here to do a story that's quintessentially New York. It's one about celebrating tradition
00:14while forging your own path. This, however, is not your typical New York fashion story.
00:21We're headed across the river into Brooklyn to a neighbourhood known as Crown Heights.
00:25It's the epicentre of a deeply observant and mystical form of Judaism, where everyday life is dictated by the guidelines
00:33of the Torah.
00:35Here, two Hasidic Jewish designers are taking fashion inspiration from their faith.
00:39A lot of people, when they hear Hasidic fashion, they imagine women who are dressed in all black, with the
00:45stockings, maybe outdated shoes.
00:48Mimi and Mushki are mothers, wives to two rabbis, and partners in a new and specialised design business.
00:56Nobody in the Jewish world has started a line that would appeal to people who aren't even interested in modest
01:00fashion.
01:01What do we want to wear? What are we not finding? Let's just make it ourselves.
01:04So how do you walk that line between being fashion-forward and also sticking to your traditions?
01:09We're not about suppressing your beauty or self-expression. It's about doing it within the channel of Judaism.
01:14It can be done, and I think that's why people are excited about what we're doing.
01:19In Hasidim, life is dictated by a spiritual rhythm. There is a specific way to do everything, from how to
01:25pray, what to eat, and the importance of what you wear.
01:28You'd say, well, what does fashion have to do with religion? It's just the outside layer, but the outside layer
01:34is really important, and it's a reflection of one's inside.
01:37Basic laws are covering your elbows, your knees, and your collarbone. I mean, that's really it.
01:42That's really it.
01:43The guidelines aren't there to, like, shackle you down and say, no, don't even, like, think about clothing.
01:48The spirit of modesty, it's very confident, something very beautiful.
01:52For Mimi and Mushki, modesty is about so much more than just fashion. It's a mitzvah, a commandment or good
02:00deed.
02:00Every single mitzvah that we are commanded, both men and women, is about a way of connecting to God.
02:06The Jewish woman actually covering those areas is about keeping the power of who you are and maintaining the power
02:13and sacredness of sexuality.
02:15We totally adhere to all our traditions, customs, and laws, but do it in a more fun, open way.
02:22To help me understand more about Hasidic tradition and modesty, Mimi and Mushki invite me to join them at an
02:28unusual place, a salon for wigs.
02:32We all cover our hair at Orthodox Jews, and it's a beautiful commandment, a mitzvah.
02:37When we do get married, your hair becomes a more private and special and sacred thing that should remain between
02:42you and your husband and your family.
02:44This is real hair, so you can touch it. Better than my hair.
02:48There's never been dye, it's very raw and fine.
02:52Do you just constantly have good hair days, though?
02:55That's what you would think, but it's actually no, they take maintenance.
02:58People who one day you see them they're running long and the next day short.
03:00I think I would.
03:01Switch it up, why not?
03:02The only thing is that they're thousands and thousands of dollars each, so you may not be able to afford
03:07one for every day.
03:09I guess some people would see it as almost repressive, but tell me about your attitude towards it.
03:14The mitzvahs that we keep are something that's like beautiful and adds to our life, much like wearing a wig.
03:19It's not about repressing or covering up necessarily, but it's about empowering what's actually essentially already there.
03:26Okay, so I think we should try on some styles.
03:29Fancy and big.
03:31How amazing is this?
03:33You look like a turtle demon.
03:34You look amazing!
03:36Like a much more serious business professional with your power.
03:39Bang.
03:40Okay, let's do me now.
03:43That's actually really cool on.
03:44Yeah, it's like a personal transformation.
03:47Now we've got to get you a long dress, southern kids.
03:53But how does their spirituality get spelled out in clothing?
03:57We're obviously always looking back into our customs and laws, and it's all about translating everything.
04:03Even people who aren't religious always have to find a way to translate who they are and their deeper beliefs
04:07into how they dress.
04:11Mushki is like our sample size, so we just like show on Mushki like what we want to be happening,
04:14how we want it to be draping.
04:16And Raju, like we work with him like on every detail.
04:18He brings it to life.
04:20We just designed this about a month ago.
04:23I love the color of this.
04:26Yeah, this is exactly what we wanted Raju.
04:28It's not a contradiction to be modest and to be trendy or to look good.
04:33Right now, there's so much modesty in mainstream fashion.
04:37The Roe, Mary Kate and Ashley, we love their energy, their style.
04:41You have Kate Middleton, she just does it so well and it's so beautiful and I think it's changing the
04:45way people think about clothing and modesty.
04:49I'm starting to understand that while Mimi and Mushki's appearance may be dictated by their faith, they aren't hindered by
04:57it.
04:58It's something that makes them feel beautiful, that they have fun with.
05:08At a pop-up shop in the neighborhood, Mimi and Mushki are showing off their latest designs and connecting with
05:14a surprising group of women outside of their own community.
05:18We're not the only religion that keeps certain laws of modesty.
05:21Through Mimi and Maxi, we've found a way to relate to lots of Christian women and Muslim women who also
05:27dress modest and who are benefiting from our clothing.
05:29My faith is most important to me, so fashion is definitely secondary, but I love, you know, being able to
05:34make the two work.
05:36Clothing can be this kind of neutral territory that brings cultures together and through this we've connected with so many
05:42Muslim women.
05:43Can I tell you how much I admire your work, like honestly?
05:46You're like the Muslim equivalent of like so much of what we feel and go through, making religion cool.
05:51And getting rid of the stereotypes.
05:53That's it.
05:53As women, we already live in such a binary world.
05:55You're like, you're smart or you're sexy.
05:56You're a good girl or you're a bad girl.
05:58Now you're like a Muslim or a Jew.
05:59It's amazing to see how this clothing can bring together women of different faiths.
06:04Modest clothing is more than just wearing the right garment.
06:07It's a representation of who they are.
06:10As an Orthodox Jewish woman, we can take inspiration from anything.
06:14Just because we're modest fashion designers doesn't mean we can't appreciate it.
06:17You can make anything modest and you can take a style and turn it into something that is possible to
06:24wear modestly.
06:25The way you dress is everything.
06:26I mean, there's a reason why fashion is such a big deal.
06:28Everyone, no matter what style you are, is interested in the way they dress to communicate who they are.
06:33The powerful and confident women I met remind me that fashion is a message to the world about who you
06:40are or who you want to be.
06:42What you wear on the outside should be a reflection of what's going on inside.
06:46to the outside.
06:47light
06:48to the outside should be a room for that actually,
06:49like the king knows her as a beau family lei.
06:49or, hey, the guy, the company doesn't care is what you're doing.
06:55You're still not that long to open thoseOne One to unlock yourself.
06:55Love inside.