Seek Refuge Wants to Make Modest Streetwear for Millennials

Photo: Seek Refuge

When Seek Refuge founder Shazia Ijaz noticed a lack of streetwear on the market to appeal modest, edgy Muslim women, she decided to do something about it. Yesterday, the 25-year-old former Poshmark staffer launched a $20,000 Indiegogo campaign to fund a four-piece streetwear collection for women. The line has already been featured in Vogue, and has raised more than $7,000.  

Ijaz, a Pakistani American Muslim, describes Seek Refuge as the world’s first streetwear brand for Muslim women. The line combines Islamic aesthetics with American style to produce artistic, fashion forward pieces for the millennial Muslims, but it doesn't stop there. A portion of proceeds will go to refugee causes, providing aid to the millions of people who have been displaced worldwide. (Currently, the brand is working with two schools in Jordan that educate Syrian children living in refugee camps.)

Photo: Seek Refuge

"Our mission is to aid refugees, empower women, and represent Muslims. We intend to shatter the stereotypes that surround Muslim women. Our clothes are meant to empower Muslim women who practice all levels of modesty to rep their culture and religion in a fashion-forward way," Ijaz writes on her Indiegogo page.

The first Seek Refuge collection includes two t-shirts, a hoodie, and an impossibly cool oversized denim jacket. (Check out the photos of the design samples below.) All four items will be produced at an ethical manufacturing facility in Turkey that has been certified by a non-profit organization to practice fair labor standards. While retail prices will be approximately $60-$200 for the capsule pieces, Indiegogo contributors can score them at half that price.

In addition to the standard denim jacket from the first capsule collection, Seek Refuge is offering a personalized version of the jacket—featuring your name or any word you choose hand-painted in Arabic calligraphy—for backers who contribute $150 or more. (While the brand is targeting female shoppers, they'll also fulfill custom denim jacket requests for men through the line's Indiegogo campaign.) Hop on board the crowdfunding bandwagon, and you can snag one before they're gone.