Ruba Zai is a Dutch hijab-wearing blogger who aims to make headscarves and attire for Muslim women mainstream.
The 23-year-old has 1.3 million followers combined via her YouTube and Instagram accounts, where she teaches others how to wrap a hijab for special occasions or a fun night out with friends, and offers tutorials on makeup and seasonal fashion tips.
Recently, she took a step toward her goal of making hijabs a global norm by becoming the first social influencer ever hired by Dolce & Gabbana for one of the label’s campaigns, according to Glamour magazine in the Netherlands.
Last year, Dolce & Gabbana became one of the first major high-end fashion lines to create designer headscarves for Muslim women when they launched a new line ahead of the Ramadan, a Muslim holiday month of peace and charity.
To celebrate the holy month of Ramadan this year, the fashion label released a new set of hijabs and abayas and photographed Zai modeling the new line in Marrakech, Morocco, according to Dolce & Gabbana’s Instagram account.
Zai’s photo shoot with Dolce & Gabbana comes after Somali-American model Halima Aden made headlines as the first Hijabi woman to ever be featured on the cover of Vogue magazine in June this year.
And she was thrilled to be participating in photo shoot for the new line according to her Instagram account @hijabhills.
But according to Vogue, brands have been slow to actually produce clothing lines for Muslim women. Dolce & Gabbana is one of the first to continue the fashion line throughout the year, Vogue reported.
The fashion market share for Muslim women is worth about $266 million, according to Fortune magazine.
“Globally, the Muslim population is a youthful and growing demographic,” Reina Lewis, professor of cultural studies at the University of the Arts London’s College of Fashion said. “This makes Muslims a very important consumer segment for anything.”