A new partnership is bringing a collection of clothing designed especially for Muslim women to Macy’s retail stores around the US.
Known as Verona Collection, the up-and-coming label was created by Lisa Vogl, a famed fashion photographer and a 2011 convert to Islam. The brand’s website refers to their company as “modest fashion line,” offering a variety of clothing and beauty items, including hijabs. The idea to found such a venture came to Vogl after she realized finding modest and fashionable clothing in the US was expensive, and hard to find.
Apparently, many other women felt the same way.
Vogl started out selling her clothing online, quickly developing a thriving customer base in both the US and the UK. Soon, Verona opened two shipping centers in order to meet demand. When Vogl opened a brick and mortar location in Florida in May 2016, she became the owner of the first-ever Muslim women’s clothing store in a major American mall.
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Now, a press release distributed last Thursday announced that Macy’s, one of the largest retailers in the US, would begin carrying items from Verona Collection beginning on February 15th. In the release, Vogl spoke about the deeper meaning her clothing has among Muslim women.
“Verona Collection is more than a clothing brand,” she said. “It’s a platform for a community of women to express their personal identity and embrace fashion that makes them feel confident on the inside and outside.”
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Verona was offered the chance to partner with Macy’s after Vogl participated in The Workshop at Macy’s, a business development program for women and minorities in the fashion industry. The program is designed to, “give select high potential minority- and women-owned businesses the tools to better succeed and sustain growth in the retail industry.”
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Providing Muslim women more options for their wardrobe is not only an overdue act of inclusion, it’s also good business. The Huffington Post reports that Muslim consumers are expected to spend over $465 million on fashion products by 2019.
Macy’s senior vice president of fashion Cassandra Jones wrote in their company press release that she hoped the partnership would expand choices for women seeking modest clothing.
“Verona Collection offers a unique and understated elegance through everyday essentials designed for versatility and comfort,” she wrote. “[T]hrough our partnership, we can better serve our customer looking for modest fashion.”