How one woman is creating space for young Muslim women to talk about fashion.

How did it feel seeing your first Black teacher? Black model? Black doctor? 

For many young Black girls, seeing yourself represented is an experience they can only hope for. Because there are so few spaces we are welcome in, we are often forced to create our own spaces to push the boundaries on what it means to look successful in whichever field we desire.  

This is why at Sisi, we’ve created a platform for Black women’s experiences to feel validated as we provide content on culture and lifestyle centred around representing the Black female diaspora. Operating under a similar philosophy is Sagal Muse, founder and editor of Muse Avenue, a modest fashion magazine for Muslim women.

Muse Avenue founder, Sagal Muse

Founded in April 2018, Muse Avenue is comprised of a team of 4 collaborators: Nasxteo Muse, Yasmin Ahmed, Asmaa Bana, and Zainab Mahdi. “My aim was to create a platform that young Muslim girls can look at and see themselves and feel heard” Sagal explains. She says Muse Avenue aims to bring inspirational Muslim women together on a centralized platform, to inspire the next generation of Muslim women and girls.  

In a typical Muse Avenue issue you can find fashion trend reports, spotlights on modest fashion innovators, career tips, lifestyle advice, written works on self-love and much more. Interwoven into these written pieces are captivating photographs of beautiful and stylish Muse Avenue models. 

In Sagal’s first magazine--one that was simply a supplementary piece to her fashion line— Sagal said she received so much positive feedback from her peers and the broader muslim community that she had struck upon an opportunity she couldn’t ignore and thus, started Muse Avenue.

There are so few initiatives that prioritize the visibility of Muslim women that when those spaces are created, they usually attract a wave of well-deserved support. And Muse Avenue is truly deserving of all this praise. This magazine manages to both showcase artistic creativity and centralize the self-care of muslim women.

Career mentorship is another undertaking of Muse Avenue. Beyond providing aesthetic representation in the arts and fashion, some articles provide career advice content from how to stand out in the workplace to decluttering your work life. 

In a typical Muse Avenue issue you can find fashion trend reports, spotlights on modest fashion innovators, career tips, and lifestyle advice.

The importance of representation is a conviction Sagal does not take lightly. “I always had to imagine a pathway for myself and just figure it out on my own whereas now with a magazine like this it’s so much easier to be able to tell the story of girls who are already doing it”. Sagal’s attention to career mentorship is rightly warranted, as an entrepreneur whose innovative spirit has landed her a job as a social media strategist. She has also been featured in the New York Times and Girlboss for her style and entrepreneurial creativity. 

When asked about why she thinks these kinds of platforms are important, Sagal notes that “they’re important because we need to see ourselves” and more comically points out “Like, I grew up literally trying to relate to Taylor Swift”. Sagal recalls that in her teen years reading Teen Vogue she “always had to imagine what was on the pages rather than just looking at it”. 

Now a space exists where young muslim girls no longer have to imagine themselves in a magazine but can see it with their own eyes. It is an experience that can be incredibly validating to one’s identity. 

She continues to explain that seeing clothes for Muslim women makes you much more comfortable in your identity, especially in a society where Eurocentric beauty standards are the norm. 

Sagal aspires to develop Muse Avenue into a broader brand that utilizes other facets of media to inspire modest fashion and Muslim girls. She hopes to collaborate with other brands that fit with the mission and purpose of the magazine and in fact has some top-secret collaborations in the works currently. 

Muse Avenue is working on their 4th issue which will be available here: https://www.museavenue.ca