Out of thin air: emerging Muslim fashion entrepreneurs and the spectre of labour in Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia’s bid to be the world’s Muslim fashion capital involves a growing number of female Muslim fashion designers and business owners. With more urban Indonesian young women adopting modest clothing, increasing state support for creative and digital economy, and ease of access and distribution, the market expansion of the Muslim fashion industry allows young Muslim women to become successful entrepreneurs and good virtuous Muslims at the same time. Based on 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork, this article examines how Indonesia’s emerging female ethical entrepreneurs frame their successes using highly individualistic and virtuous registers. Muslim women’s fashion entrepreneurs seem to b..