“There was absolutely nowhere one could go to buy simple, functional and climate-friendly abayas or hijabs… unless one wants to wear the thin black abaya and freeze in the harsh UK winter months.”
Shahida could see there was a style obstacle for Manchester’s Islamic community. And she thought she knew how to fix it.
In 1995, she embarked on a mission to develop style-conscious yet wearable Islamic clothing – working with her husband Altaf to launch Abayas Boutique – and the city’s leading luxury ‘House of Hijab’ was born.
Today, the Rusholme-based clothing brand is the go-to spot for garments that conform to Islamic guidelines without compromising on style, specialising in beautiful hijabs and abayas that are fashion-forward; with chic options made from luxurious fabrics.
The business idea originated from Shahida’s need for an abaya that allowed her to feel confident, and she enlisted the help of her fashion designer husband to create one.
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What started as a simple idea soon skyrocketed to popularity in Greater Manchester.
“Word spread and my friends were placing orders for customised abayas and hijabs – we were inundated with orders from the local community,” Shahida explained.
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Abayas Boutique is now run as a family business, with their eldest daughter assisting Shahida and Altaf in creating the garments.
The brand puts a new spin on what Islamic clothing usually entails, adopting luxurious and trendy designs that still allow for modest dressing.
“We offer exclusive stylish designs for the modern Muslim woman demonstrating that conformity to Islamic guidelines need not compromise on elegance and style”, says Shahida.
The abayas and hijabs from the brand also befit any occasion, whether it’s a casual streetwear composition or a more formal style.
The founding couple are proud Mancunians – Altaf was born and bred in Longsight whereas Shahida has lived in Manchester for most of her life – and they’re both dedicated to catering for the city’s Muslim communities and style-conscious students.
Rather than being inspired by the city, they firmly believe that they’ve made a difference to Manchester’s fashion scene.
“We have paved the way to modest fashion and luxury abaya fashion,” says Shahida.
“We are literally bringing the trends and so forth to the city.”
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Abayas Boutique has recently launched their Ramadan spring collection, which adopts flowy silhouettes and pastel colours that are befitting of the spring weather whilst still in keeping with their luxurious style.
“We are in Ramadan right now, so clients are looking to purchase one or more of a fancier abaya to wear for Eid or to gift,” states Shahida, who is keen to provide customers with only the best of luxury modest Islamic wear for this occasion.
“Our new collection’s inspiration has been derived from distinct fusions of different periods in history, cultural art and fashion, as well as cultural trends.”
Drama Call opening first-ever flagship shop in Manchester
Danny Jones
Streetwear superstars Drama Call are opening their new flagship store and first-ever permanent site in Manchester city centre this weekend.
Expect massive queues and lots turning up wearing the increasingly recognisable starry logo.
Already a much-loved brand not just here in 0161 but across the nation at large, the native independent business turned street-style favourites and UK fashion phenomenon are no strangers to HUGE pop-ups in their hometown.
However, they’ve never had a mainstay location anywhere in the country, let alone Greater Manchester – well, until now, that is…
Credit: Press shots (supplied)
Debuting in the Northern Quarter this Sunday, the venue located on Tib Street will effectively serve as Drama Call‘s new HQ.
The local label has done everything from popping up vans with Manc rapper Aitch to collaborating with Man United for multiple limited edition collections, so it only felt like a matter of time before they’d make a big brick-and-mortar splash in our fair city.
Most notably, they’re also taking over the same unit as the Sheep Shop, a former skate shop and legendary urban clothing tastemaker of the 90s; they were one of the first places in Britain to stock famous names like Stüssy, Supreme, Carhartt, The North Face and many more.
With that in mind, it feels only fitting that they carry on the trendsetting tradition from the same premises, and just spitting distance from the likes of Note, as well.
And that’s not all, either: before the full launch, they’ll also be holding an exclusive cash-only shirt swap event, where a limited number of certain collector’s items will be sold for as little as £10.
Other things to note are the additions of signed vinyls by homegrown artists such as the aforementioned Aitch and even The Smiths.
In fact, the store will also feature strictly Mancunian exclusives, too.
Everything from polo shirts and tees to branded mugs, matchboxes and other accessories will be available in-store only.
NQ is bound to be buzzing across launch weekend, with doors officially opening to the public on Sunday, and we wouldn’t be surprised if you see people camping outside the front well ahead of time.
What a moment the Manc shopping scene is having right now.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via Pear)
Style
Keo play Projekts: garage and grunge revivalists crush Manchester skatepark for new music video
Danny Jones
This past Thursday evening, fast-rising rock band Keo took over Projekts MCR skatepark for a special pop-up gig and to film a brand-new music video for their latest single, ‘Pistol’, starring some of their biggest fans here in Manchester.
In fact, it didn’t take long for us to suss out that plenty of them had flocked from far and wide to be there, and let’s say we’re sure they’ll say it was worth the journey.
We caught Keo’s well-attended festival set inside the Woodlands at Kendal Calling 2025, not to mention their completely sold-out show at the O2 Ritz back in March – their biggest headline date up to that point – and we’re more certain than ever that they’re going to be absolutely massive.
And if they keep up doing more memorable stuff like this, it’s just a matter of how soon…
Packing out Projekts to the point that people were literally hanging off fences and standing on electrical boxes at the side of the street to try and get a peek at the post-punk, grunge and garage rockers, some of their most enthusiastic young fans had been waiting outside the location as early as noon.
For context, doors opened six hours later, and the boys didn’t come on until 7:30pm.
Those who signed up to Keo‘s mailing list were sent information regarding securing a spot at the one-off performance earlier this month.
While you would have seen the place fill up even if they were just standard concert tickets, the fact that the band were taping the whole thing to use as the visuals for their newest single, as mentioned, meant that Keo’s avid followers were literally clamouring AND clambering to get the best view position possible.
Turning the popular skaters’ hub’s central bowl into a makeshift stage, with lights, camera, booms and various crew surrounding the entire venue, it was a surreal experience to say the least.
And, of course, they were absolutely brilliant – just as they were at the Ritz at the start of the year and Kendal before that, playing a short but sweet set that left everyone wanting more and choruses of punters chanting Keo long after the final song.
We can’t wait to see how the video itself turns out, especially seeing how much the people who wrapped around them and the skatepark were lost in the moment, and we’re also looking forward to them headlining Neighbourhood Fest in Manchester city centre this October.
You can grab a ticket to see them and the rest of the NBHD lineup right HERE, but until then, give the full studio version of ‘Pistol’ a play and get ready for their debut album.
Daisy Bradbury -
30th April 2021 
