Its always refreshing when brands diversify and embrace the culture and comfort of their clients, it gives a new meaning to relationship management.
Although, not the first but months after the brukini and weeks after hijab-wearing Halima Aden conquered the Max Mara and Alberta Ferretti catwalks in Milan, “I grew up never knowing that a woman wearing a hijab could be a model”, she said.
Nike has decided to pay attention to the clothing needs of Muslim women around the world, developed its first high-performance ‘Pro’ hijab, made from a sportswear mesh fabric comprised of tiny holes that guarantee optimal breath-ability but remains completely opaque.
The Pro Hijab is the result of a year-long collaborative process between Nike and top female Muslim athletes, such as weightlifter Amna Al Haddad and figure skater Zahra Lari.
When working on the design, Nike took on board the concerns competing athletes face when wearing a hijab, examining the ways these affected their performance.
Al Haddad, who is from the United Arab Emirates, recounted how the garment’s weight, its likelihood of moving around and its lack of breath-ability disrupted her focus.
“The one obstacle that’s always there if you’re a hijabi is what are you going to wear on your head?” said Al Haddad.
“For us, we come up with ideas and ways to be comfortable in what we wear, but to have the number one sport and fitness brand in the world facilitate this process for us is going to change everything.”
“It’s revolutionary and will change the face of sport for Muslim Arab girls,” said Al Haddad. “You have no idea how important this is. It’s going to inspire girls worldwide to follow their passion for sports.”
I also believe would be embraced by a lot of schools in Nigeria and Africa at large, would also give motivation to Muslim girls who have been shying away from sports the push they need to be an athlete . And Nike being a power brand in sports wear and being a part of this innovation would cause other other sports brands to embrace it and create a wider and reachable market.
