Fashion mag targets gap in Muslim market

ROTTERDAM (Reuters) - Rotterdam gallery curator Natasa Heydra and student Bushra Sayed are among the editorial team of glossy fashion magazine MSLM, launched in April in Rotterdam.

The title of the English, Dutch and French language magazine -- which they say is a "zero issue" or one-off for now -- is a play on the Dutch word for female Muslim, Moslima, and the clothing sizes medium-small-large-medium.

They spoke to Reuters about the target audience of the magazine -- and how they saw a gap in the market.

Q: Who is the magazine for?

Heydra: It is for Muslim girls but also for all girls. We made it because we couldn't understand why there wasn't such a publication yet.

On the streets in Holland we saw a big group of Muslim girls and they look beautiful, yet when you look at the media or magazines they only focus on the problems and the differences of these women. But there are also 16, 17, 18-year-old Dutch girls who are interested in style and trends.

Sayed: The idea of the magazine is to show that you can look fashionable and cover up at the same time, to show how street style can combine with a head scarf.

Q: How easy is it to buy clothes?

Sayed: I find it very easy to dress. You find all kinds of things in town. It is about combinations and it has got easier since you see the influence of our fashion on general fashion.

I am a Muslim but I am also a person who is interested in fashion and I want to combine all these things.

For me it is important to cover my body, except the hands, feet and face. And within that I can wear whatever I want, but it should not be too tight and short.

My mother, friends, and relatives are very enthusiastic and I did not have to fight at all for my own style.

Heydra: These girls can't live without Zara, H&M and Mango. There is a basic set of rules and within these rules it is about choice and about modesty.