ABSTRACT
The stars of the catwalk have just returned from the pilgrimage to Mecca. Clear symbols of their newly acquired haji status are visible in the form of various head coverings. As with their outfits, the head coverings come in many styles, colours, and fabrics. It is a little after seven in the Indonesian town of Sengkang when the MC calls out the name of the first participant in the evening’s main event, a Muslim fashion parade. The first contestant saunters onto the stage, slowly and demurely doing one turn and then another. Twenty people are vying to be crowned the winner of this event and thus be publicly recognized as the most elegant embodiment of Muslim femininity in Sengkang. The audience is jammed tight in the ground floor venue, leaving little room for the three judges. The judges have, by necessity, all been on the hajj and are former winners of this competition.
