Indonesia eyes to become Islamic fashion hub by 2020

03 Aug '12

2 min read

Looking ahead to grow the country into an Islamic fashion capital by 2020, Indonesia’s Industry Ministry is eyeing Europe as its key future export destination.

The Industry Ministry’s Director General for Small and Medium Scale Industries, Euis Saedah said Islamic clothing made by Indonesian designers are receiving immense interest, which is evident from the fact that the country’s industry has been receiving bulk orders and there is keen interest from overseas buyers following last year’s International Islamic Fashion Fair held in Jakarta.

Speaking at the inauguration of the four-day Muslim Fashion Products exhibition in Jakarta, Ms. Euis said Indonesia’s forward-thinking, middle-class Muslims have kindled innovations and creativity in Islamic fashion, following which, other countries have started showing interest in Indonesia’s Muslim clothing.

The Indonesian Muslim fashion industry would soon widen its reach to Asian markets like Malaysia and Thailand, and also to European markets like France, Turkey and Britain, she added.

There is a huge potential market for Indonesian-designed Muslim clothing, particularly in Europe, where they eye US$ 150 million business in Britain’s Islamic fashion industry alone, Ms. Euis said.

Housing over 16 million Muslims, the annual sales of Muslim clothing in Europe has now reached US$ 1.5 billion.

Ms. Euis informed that Thailand has also proposed to join Indonesia for marketing Indonesian products in Europe, as Thailand has an easy access to Europe and also an edge in marketing.

The Indonesian Government expects the country to grow into a global hub for Islamic fashion by 2020, with industry leaders eyeing a seven percent rise in their exports by 2025, she said.

The Muslim Fashion Products exhibition organized by the Industry Ministry is viewed as a pre-event of “The 3rd Muslim World Biz” that Indonesia is to host from September 12-16, and which is expected to attract participation of members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

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