New Hijab Collection At Tysons Corner Center Boosts Inclusiveness

TYSONS, VA — Growing up, Hilal Ibrahim experienced difficulty finding hijabs and other apparel Muslim women like her need all in one place. Now thanks to her, Muslim women can walk into a Tysons Corner Center store and see hijabs prominently displayed for sale.

Ibrahim, CEO and founder of Henna & Hijabs (H&H), started her company in 2017 and introduced her collection this summer at Nordstrom in Tysons Corner Center and other locations around the U.S. This is one of the first luxury hijab collections to be sold inside a U.S. retailer store.

"[It's] very exciting to see young Muslim girls come into a store and see a hijab on a mannequin," Ibrahim told Patch.

On Thursday, she celebrated the launch of her Nordstrom x Henna & Hijabs fall and winter collection. Over 200 people gathered in the Nordstrom store for the launch of the H&H fall collection. The event featured prominent Muslim Americans such as social media influencer Aysha Harun and comedian Yasmin Elhady. The event's distinguished guest was Somali Ambassador to the U.S. Ali Sharif Ahmed and his delegation. Nearly all of the products sold out during the launch event.

“Until now, many Muslim women had to go to multiple stores to find a complete outfit including hijab, but through this partnership, we’re making modest fashion more accessible for the millions of Muslim women in the U.S. and Canada – who can now walk into a Nordstrom with confidence and see themselves represented throughout the store," said Ibrahim.

The fall collection offers an additional 11 hijab patterns to meet fall trends and offer soft, comfortable materials for the colder season. The collection has a variety of materials, from fabrics from a casual jersey knit to special-occasion silks. The brand also offers a cap that can help hijabs from slipping off as well as accessory pins.

The 27-year-old designer hopes the collection not only improves accessibility for Muslim women shoppers, but she wants to demonstrate that Muslim women are important to all parts of society.

"I wanted to find a way to uplift millions of young girls and women to dream big, and I truly wanted the young women and girls who look like me to know that the representation that you guys see in the store tonight is really important and really matters," said Ibrahim.

Christian Richardson, a member of the Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Program at Nordstrom, said this is the first designer hijab line at Nordstrom, but it won't be the last.

"This partnership is really important to us because it's indicative of how we'd like to evolve as a brand but most importantly as a fashion authority, said Richardson. "We can't be a fashion authority if we're not inclusive in our fashion."

Ibrahim has also addressed inequities for Muslim women outside of department stores. Her Hijabs for Healthcare effort created the first health care hijab for hospital worker and patients, resulting from her experience needing a hospital-grade hijab that could be kept clean while working as phlebotomist at a health care system in Minnesota. Her first partnership with a health care system — HealthPartners in Minnesota — was announced in 2019. Ibrahim says efforts to partner with health care systems to offer the health care hijab are ongoing, and it will be a priority for the company in 2022.

Prices for hijabs at Nordstrom start at $39. For more information, visit hennaandhijabs.com or see the Nordstrom collection.