Ordestie (ordestie.estore on Instagram), founded in December 2020, is allegedly the first French multi-brand platform dedicated to modest fashion, and it is on a mission to break the taboos still surrounding the concept of modest fashion in France. Founded by Soukaïna Jaafari & Maud Garnier, Ordestie is a culmination of diverse collections, cultures, and passions. Recently, the French Senate voted in favour of a bill that would ban the hijab for women under 18, highlighting Islamophobic sentiments in the government and provoking widespread backlash and criticism from all over the world. French Muslim women are constantly facing challenges when merging their faith with fashion in public spaces, and Ordestie is working to change the narrative around modesty to help make it more approachable and accessible to both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Of course, modesty isn’t just for Muslims, and Ordestie believes in catering to women of all faiths, along with women who are atheists or simply interested in the aesthetics or comfort of modest fashion. French society is incredibly diverse and cosmopolitan, and Ordestie both reflects and represents the demand for more modest-inclusive fashion in the country. In an exclusive interview with modestish, the founders of Ordestie discuss French fashion, modesty as an empowering lifestyle, and dealing with prejudice against Muslim women:
1. Tell us about your background and journey leading up to launching ORDESTIE:
We (Soukaïna Jaafari & Maud Garnier) both come from the innovation sector. Each one among us has her own story but we had one essential common point : a difficulty finding pieces of clothes that meet our criteria of modesty in a European style, while shopping. Born from an unexpected encounter encouraged by destiny, Ordestie is the crossed vision of our two personalities with different backgrounds and origins. Strengthened by this diversity of ideas, culture and passion, we think that fashion is a unique way to break codes and stereotypes through fashion trends. We make of this wonderful statement the ambition to transmit the universal values of living together through a lifestyle that is more and more widespread: modest fashion.
2. When did you launch ORDESTIE, what’s the story behind the name, and what has the response been so far in France?
We launched Ordestie on line the 18th of December 2020. As we said, It was very important for us to transmit the the universal values of living together, the notion of tolerance is important in a country where the differences divide more than they unite. The word Ordestie is a catchword of Ornate (tolérance in latin) an Modestie (Modesty). Since its launch the concept has been very popular, many modest fashion brands are emerging, and followers of this dressing style in France need a platform to showcase these brands.
3. What gap in the market did you see for modest fashion in France?
Many shops offer modest fashion clothing, but the items are very often similar to each other. Many modest fashion women waste a lot of time in the shopping experience to find modern clothes that meet their modesty criteria100%. Very often the modest clothes are the same and the more modern clothes have either transparency, too short cuts etc, making the search for modest clothing more difficult. It is this difficulty that Ordestie tries to provide a solution for.
4. What are some of your best-sellers?
Our customers looking for modern and comfortable wear. In France, with the differents lockdown, one trend emerged: the Athflow. It is the combination of a classy piece with a more casual piece. For the casual side, the sophisticated sweat-wear from Charisme is perfect for this trend, and for the classy side, the over-shirt and pants of the color block set are a big hit. During the rainy period, the Misstoura palazzo-suit has met with a real craze. Now with the preparation of Ramadan, the Coral Abay dress and the blue suit from Toucoulor are the new best sellers with their incredible colors and materials.
5. Do you design the pieces yourselves or stock other brands?
Ordestie is a multi-brand platform, we are highlighting the pieces of other brands to show the French creation.
6. France has a complicated relationship with hijabs and modest fashion. Have you faced any negative backlash?
Unfortunately, yes, there is a huge polemic here in France about Islam and in particular, at this time, the dress code of Muslim women. Our position is to show a picture of modest fashion as an inclusive model, where each woman can be represented no matter her morphology, her origins, her skin color, or her beliefs. Via this direction, we had a lot of good feedback. We have been defined by the French media as a “free fashion” platform which has allowed us to gain credibility and not to be bothered by this controversy. It is also a pride for us to show the real image of modest fashion and the woman who wears it: an emancipated, integrated and happy woman.
7. What’s the biggest misconception about modest fashion in France?
It is to define it as a Muslim fashion. Modest fashion certainly caters to the criteria of the Muslim women, but not only them – also women who are Jewish, Christian or quite simply atheists, and many are those whom are tired of the representation of the woman like a simple object. These women wish to direct themselves towards clothing that allows them to re-appropriate how of their bodies are perceived, and this is exactly what modest fashion tackles. The launch of Ordestie proved it to us: the women who are interested in our concept come from very varied geographical and religious origins.
8. How do you define modesty?
There are billions of different ways to describe modest fashion, as it is multicultural and identified by codes that are specific to each one. What we must remember first of all is that it represents above all a lifestyle, a unique way of displaying individual values while remaining modern. Modest fashion is therefore a personal preference, where modesty gives power – the power to dress for herself and not for the sake of pleasing others.
Beyond dress codes, modesty is a state of mind that is transcribed through tolerance. What all the adepts of modest fashion are looking for above all is freedom – the freedom to be yourself. It is the appropriation of an inclusive movement that has neither borders nor religion.
9. Modest fashion is not black in white – in what ways does our motto resonate with you?
Like a trust! In modest fashion there is “fashion”. Fashion is above all a way to express ourselves, to say who we are. We are all different, so we need a color palette as wide as there are women in the world.
10. In what ways can dressing modestly be empowering for women?
Women should be free to show their legs or to cover their heads.
For us, empowerment means “freedom”. Modest Fashion is a way to put an end to the idealization of the woman object and the hypersexualization of her body. It offers the woman the re-appropriation of her image where her true meaning should be – an image that goes beyond the stereotypes and encourages the woman to become aware of her value. By this way it suggests to the woman to be the only one to decide on her life choices and therefore on her clothing style. She alone can decide the direction she wants to take. This, is empowerment.
