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TikTok may face a possible ban in the U.S., but a strong fashion community is forming on the app and will no doubt continue to create regardless of the app’s future. Vogue is here to find the most inspiring, and most stylish, creators on it.
This week’s must-follow accounts are Maha Gondal (@moxeb) and Nemah Hasan (@nemahsis), two friends located in Toronto, Canada. Gondal works as a fashion stylist during the day, while Hasan is a singer and songwriter. Individually, they will cater their page’s content to their skillsets; Gondal offers fresh styling inspiration, while Hasan’s singing voice is worth all of the double-taps. Together, however, the pair will also unite for fashion-focused videos showcasing their fabulous modest style—and they completely steal the show on the app.
The duo have been friends since 2015, when they met at the Reviving the Islamic Spirit convention in the city. “We had been following each other on Instagram a few weeks prior,” says Gondal, while Hasan adds, “We immediately bonded over our love for fashion, art and music.” They started experimenting with their joint TikToks in the spring during lockdown. “Covid restrictions had uninspired and limited [us], so I reached out to Nemah with this concept of mixing fashion with friendship,” says Gondal. Hasan had been dipping her toes into the app earlier back in March. “I started creating TikToks alone in my room during Covid to pass the time, and then Maha had a cool idea to become content-creating quarantine buddies,” she says.
They posted their first TikTok together in May on Hasan’s page, where they shared their chic backyard fits. Now, their pages have since evolved to include full-on runway walks, in which they wear pieces from cool streetwear labels such as Eytys, I.AM.GIA., and MISBHV. As a result, Gondal has amassed over 48,000 followers, and Hasan over 190,000.
As two Muslim women, Gondal and Hasan hope to use TikTok to empower others to be proud of their modest style. “I just want to wear what’s on the runway in a modest fashion,” Hasan says. “I basically wear what everyone else wears on social media, but make it ‘hijab.’ Maha and I both struggled immensely with styling high fashion as a Muslim woman. We, as Muslim women, didn’t want to feel restricted from high fashion because we chose to dress modest. Therefore, we made it our goal to inspire women like us.” Gondal agrees, adding that their personal styles come completely naturally to both of them. “I don’t really think about it anymore, it just comes naturally to me,” she says. “I no longer have to pick between high fashion and modesty because I am a creative. I found a way to connect the two different worlds in a unique way.”
