Introduction: Fashion/Religion Interfaces

The complex interconnections between religious beliefs and fashion in clothing have been increasingly recognised by researchers, already since the ‘new veiling’ phenomenon spread across the Muslim world in the 1970s, and especially since the extreme politicisation of the Muslim veil in the 2000s and 2010s. At the same time, fashion has increasingly begun to be a force that can shape religious communities as well as create debates, often of a controversial nature, within and between faiths. By focussing on both Christianity and Islam, this special issue opens new areas of enquiry on fashion/religion interfaces.