The Prospect of Outerwear as Modern Office Wear For Muslim Women
Pingki Indrianti
Dept. of Design (Fashion Design Program), Politeknik Negeri Media Kreatif Jakarta
Oki Kurniawan
Dept. of Product Design, Faculty of Creative Industry and Telematika, Universitas Trilogi
Abstract
Number of female workers in formal sector increasing all around Indonesia especially in Jakarta, that include Muslim women (Muslimah) workers wearing Hijab (veil) for daily work activities. Outerwear garment e.g. blazer, suite, and coat, is one of their choice for office wear which gives professional, practical, and stylish look; in additions the loose silhouette assumed to help covering the aurat. Base on that potential this paper aims to explore the prospect and criteria of Outerwear as office wear that made or designed specifically for Muslim workers. Research conducted by distributing questionnaires to 100 respondents to collect preliminary data about Muslim women preferences of wearing Outerwear for daily work activities; then followed by semi structural interview about Outerwear garments regarding to the appropriate Sharia and aesthetic aspect (Fashion Components). Result of this research indicates criteria of Outerwear as Muslim office wear. The criteria include, (1) Silhouette: Loose-fitting, not bulky and practical cuts. (2) Detail: Variant and unique details of sleeves or collar. (3) Texture: Variant ornaments (geometric and flora or Sulur), non-transparent, easy care and comfortable (breathable) fabrics. (4) Colour: Soft and dark colour to create formal image. (5) Market and Consumer: Early majority group.
Keywords: Fashion components, Hijab, Muslim fashion, Office wear, Outerwear
