Muslim designer Naballah Chi fuses faith, fashion, Carnival

WHEN Naballah Chi first started exploring her personal style as a devout Muslim, finding clothes that were both modest and fashionably chic was an anomaly.

Today, Chi, an award-winning designer, who placed second in the reality-TV fashion competition, Carnival Catwalk, is challenging the stereotypes that stylish Muslim women threaten Islamic piety. She is also breaking boundaries as an entrepreneur in the Carnival industry.

“I am a very reserved person but my fashion and my style is very loud. I challenge my faith with the way that I dress. People think because you are a Muslim you have to dress down…that Muslim women have to dress so drab and just dress boring.

“It’s always these black abayas (full-length, loose clothing) and even if it’s not black, it’s an
abaya that isn’t really stylish, just a lot of loose cloth.

"For me, I always found a way to wear traditional, I would say Western clothing, and just put my own Islamic spin on it.”

Her first strike against the Islamic fashion status quo was including vibrant colours that are atypical for traditional Islamic wear in her designs.

“I am from the Caribbean…this is my life, my lifestyle. I was always drawn to colours…I include a lot of colour in my designs and in Islam, it is always frowned upon to be very flashy and bold. So, that was my number one strike because it didn’t really resonate with a lot of people. Initially they found me very attention-seeking.”

Chi pushed ahead in perfecting her styling talent and, inspired by her seamstress mother, began designing her own clothes.

“I grew up with a mom who is a seamstress. It was something I was curious about so I wanted to sew my own clothes…I think at that point I realised I was a creative person.

“I was very passionate about fashion and not just fashion but style.”

Storytelling through fashion

Perfecting her craft since 2008, she officially launched her Naballah Chi brand in 2015. She describes it as artisanal, elegant and bold.

“I needed to have a product that when people see it they know it’s Naballah and Naballah alone. That’s where I started doing acrylic painting on my designs, block printing and also just freestyle. I come from a very artistic background as well. My dad used to draw and I excelled in art at schools, so I just found a way to merge everything that I loved into one and just make it work for me.”

Trained at the Caribbean Academy of Fashion Design, Chi said her brand is culturally and ancestrally inspired.

“My designs are deeply-rooted in my heritage, blending tradition with modern fashion…My brand isn’t just about clothing but empowering expression, confidence, identity, and storytelling through fashion.”

An advocate for environmental sustainability, she uses upcycled materials in her designs.

“I prioritise eco-conscious materials and ethical production…I think that being eco-conscious is extremely important to who I am as a person and also for the environment…I recycle as much as I can. Sustainability is a journey. You are probably never going to be 100 per cent sustainable but it’s a journey and it’s something that I always try to improve on every time.”

That practice proved beneficial when she entered a transcultural competition, funded by Unesco, for which Caribbean designers were tasked with creating a collection that reflects sustainability. The competition gave Chi the opportunity to visit Cuba where she won the award for best fashion collection.

“I did three pieces and the challenges I went through to get that collection out there…when I won, it felt amazing.

“One of my award-winning pieces was an upcycled piece. It was totally made from scraps of fabric and all of them included my signature hand-painting.”

Winning that award was the pinnacle of her career, but was a bittersweet moment as she sometimes feels “invisible” in her own country.

“It felt like validation for my work, because I am here in Trinidad and I sometimes feel invisible. I feel like I haven’t been given my flowers so to speak…And just knowing I had to leave my home country to go out there and be recognised as an award-winning designer, it was kind of a bittersweet moment, but I just choose to focus on the positives.

“At the end of the day, I represented Trinidad and Tobago and I wore my flag proudly and it was an amazing experience because I had never won an award in fashion before so that was my first, hopefully, not my last.”

Balancing faith and Carnival

Chi said she’s always been confident to go into spaces where you don’t traditionally see Muslims. One such controversial space – the Carnival industry.

“As a Muslim woman, I love Carnival. And I know that it’s very controversial but it’s the truth and it’s something that naturally makes me happy, especially the creativity.”

But she is not a fan of nudity in design, especially in the Carnival space.

“The nudity is a different side which I don’t relate to. I always try to keep my designs as modest as possible while still exploring who I am and my creativity and the concepts that I like."

Referencing Carnival band Lost Tribe – which Chi described as her “dream band” to one day design costumes for – she said she wished more bands would be inspired by their designs.

“Playing with Lost Tribe has allowed me to be so creative and it comes back to being authentic to yourself and who you are. You don’t have to look a certain way, the pressure is not on to look a certain way. That takes away from the experience. I feel like that’s why I love the Lost Tribe and I can’t really see myself playing with any other band because it’s an experience and the entire experience is authentic to TT Carnival.”

Mas losing its essence

She, however, agrees TT’s Carnival is losing its essence.

“We are losing the essence of Carnival. I think that the things that made TT Carnival very special and unique are the traditional elements. Look at where Carnival was even born – from the Canboulay riots. We have masmen like Peter Minshall and these bands that do more of a traditional Carnival. I think honestly that if we had more of that and it was something that was really marketed to the world, we would be on a different level."

Lamenting the comparisons between TT’s and Rio de Janeiro’s carnival, Chi said there should be a deliberate push towards the more traditional elements of Carnival.

“Now we have our Carnival being compared to Rio carnival and I think that’s very unfortunate. I think if we had taken a different, more traditional route in terms of our Carnival designs we probably would not have to deal with comparisons.

“We would stand so far above the rest that we would not even have to deal with that. But that’s not the case so I feel like a lot more could be done. I think when you start commercialising stuff you lose the essence of it.”

Of her Carnival Catwalk stint and being among the top two finalists, she said it was one of the “most amazing experiences of her life.”

“The set, the cast, the crew – everybody was just so genuine. It was very long and sometimes tiring…But the designers, we were all there for each other and we made it fun. Being able to represent TT was a pleasure.”

Chi loved the cast's diversity with its five TT designers and designers from the UK, USA, Mauritius, Benin, India, Taiwan, Netherlands and Germany.

She lauded the producers, who include Trinidadian radio personality and singer Jerome "Rome" Precilla, as she believes more must be done to showcase TT’s Carnival in a way that appeals to young people.

“It’s a new generation, it’s a new time. The way that we have presented Carnival over the years, it has changed, it has evolved. Now is the time of the reality shows and social media. I love this reality-TV format that they have decided to do it in. It’s very engaging, very exciting and very new. The concept of Carnival Catwalk is original – mixing Carnival with fashion. It could have been like any other reality TV show but Carnival makes it different."

No support for creatives

Chi believes creatives do not get support to pursue their craft in TT. Lack of funding and infrastructural limitations are some of the challenges she identified.

“A lot of times I would reach out for (government) funding and it just never happened for whatever reason. I honestly feel like there is a bias towards the arts…The creatives, musicians, dancers, fashion designers, we carry TT on our backs when it comes to the creative arts and we do not get the recognition and the support.

“Every creative that I know wants to leave Trinidad, unfortunately, and I think that has to do with the fact that there is no support. There is nothing in place for us to really grow. It’s unfortunate because we are the now generation and you are still seeing the older heads getting the opportunities that I think we should have.

“Trinidad does not have the infrastructure for a fashion designer to really become a global sensation. We have to go outside, that’s just the fact and it makes me kind of sad because we have so much creatives here and a simple thing like a manufacturing company we don’t have.

“I think that is very crucial because the amount of work, the amount of product that we put out, we need to have a place where it is being manufactured…I can’t just do everything on my own and you don’t really see any opportunities for growth. It’s like you’re spinning top in mud basically.”

Authentic style

Despite the challenges she is committed to ensuring her industry progresses. She is encouraging upcoming designers to be courageous in the face of failure.

“Do not be afraid to fail. Failing is a part of the process and it is what helps you to improve your work for you to eventually become the best.”

She said authenticity is the key to one’s longevity in the business.

"You really have to just be yourself and know who you are. Authenticity resonates very deeply. It’s the thing that makes you unique.”

Chi will be pursuing a fashion residency in Europe to develop her artistic skills.

While crediting her faith for her success, Chi said her brand will continue to resonate authenticity.

“I got my start in this whole fashion thing because of being modest in my dress because it was unique at the time. When I came out we didn’t have Muslim models and all these things. Now we have all of that because the world has changed and see Islam for more than just Muslim women being in hijabs and they’re oppressed.

“I feel like my faith is responsible for how far I have gotten in terms of fashion. I always have to draw back to my faith and that is what keeps me grounded – reverting to what I know, what I am known for and what I want to represent.”

Follow Naballah Chi on Facebook and Instagram: @NaballahChi

Shop her brand: naballahchi.com