Title: The brand of 'hijabers' between marketability and Islamic identity

Authors: Narjess Aloui; Cyrine Amdouni

Addresses: Faculté des Sciences Economiques et de Gestion de Tunis, Tunisia ' Faculté des Sciences Economiques et de Gestion de Tunis, Tunisia

Abstract: Lately, the Muslim woman was revealed as an active element of the fashion market. She can provide profit and be a significant part of the fashion business. The aim of this paper is to explore the Muslim veiled woman image in contemporary society and the role of hijab in the construction of her identity. This study revolves around a semiotic approach to netnography of an international brand advertising. The 'Nike hijab pro' add has been conducted within a qualitative mode of investigation to determine how the empowerment of Muslim veiled athletes has inspired this international brand to produce a special line. The findings show that Muslim veiled female and, in our case, Muslim veiled athletes, generate 'modestly empower' representations that recreate meaning for western international brands. Thus, marketers need recognising the importance of managing the image of Muslim veiled women on a global scale.

Keywords: marketability; brand; fashion; Nike hijab pro; hijab identity; Islamic identity; netnography; semiotics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIMB.2018.098529

International Journal of Islamic Marketing and Branding, 2018 Vol.3 No.4, pp.341 - 352

Received: 14 Jul 2018
Accepted: 29 Dec 2018
Published online: 25 Mar 2019 *

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