THE BRAND STORY
My name is Chiara Taffarello and I come from Treviso, near Venice.
In 2006 I graduated as a fashion designer in Milan.
Since then I have worked as a denim and casualwear designer for several large brands and have travelled to many parts
of the world to do research.
However, while I was in Pakistan I had the chance to learn about Muslim culture. I also learned a lot about modest fashion.
I realised that although these styles were created for women not at ease about showing their bodies
due to their religious beliefs, this style is now evolving to define a new femininity.
The idea of starting MUNAMER came in 2016.
I wanted to create a new lifestyle concept for Muslim women who love life, travel and sport, but who also need to adhere to their
modest traditions.
I said: I want to be the first Italian brand focused on the MODESTWEAR market.
Spending a lot of time round hotel swimming pools I noticed Muslim women were not comfortable with going into the water
because they didn’t have suitable swimwear. Some wore dark-coloured burkinis, quite the opposite of their kurtas
or other daytime clothes, which were sophisticated and full of vibrant colour.
I told myself: “There are so many styles and interesting prints on bikinis but nothing similar when we look at burkinis.”
For this reason I decided to start my project with a swimwear collection. I began buying samples and looking for new print ideas
in local markets. I also thought up new designs to blend with traditional taste.
My focus was clear: I wanted to celebrate women whose traditions required them to cover up more than those in Western countries.
I wanted to give them the opportunity to enjoy swimming, and playing with their children on the beach, while still being on trend,
elegant, feminine, comfortable and, above all, modest.
I consider it an honour as well as a challenge to prove modest swimwear need not be dull.
And I also hope to be able to blend Italian taste with the modest market needs.
The project came into being just a few months later when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter.
At the time I said: “Now or never, this is what I really want to do.” So I booked the show for eight months later
and I started to work on it full time.
It was very hard work, but I in the end I was able to do everything I needed to do on time!!
In April 2018 at the LONDON MUSLIM LIFESTYLE SHOW, while I was still pregnant with my daughter.
It was there I launched MUNAMER by Chiara Taffarello by presenting a MODEST SWIMWEAR collection
driven by a new look at BURKINIS in different sizes, designs, colours and prints.
This collection represents a welcome into the MUNAMER world, a journey into a colourful, exotic,mystical and radiant atmosphere,
where all women can express their own taste and personality by chosing a style they like.
MUNAMER by Chiara Taffarello means ease, confidence, freshness, originality, and femininity.
By putting my name on the brand I show that this concept represents me, my beliefs and my passion.
MUNAMER comes from from MUNA, Arabic for desire or wish, while MER means sea in French, so MUNAMER means sea desire.
The logo is a geometric metallic pink leaf that stands for the mixture between the inspiration I get from nature, flowers,
beaches and landscape, mixed with the elegance and femininity of Islamic geometrics and arabesque writing.
The whole brand is MADE IN ITALY and the entire collection is designed by me, using high quality fabric, printed
and manifactured in a small atelier near Ancona called Dolcevita.
Francesca, the woman who make the garments, is an experienced dressmaker who works for the highest luxury brands in Italy.
MUNAMER is the creation of an Italian high-end fashion designer who taken up the challenge of making modest slothing
for fashion-conscious, fun-loving Muslim women.
Whether you dress in a modest style or otherwise, my advice is is to choose clothes to reflect your personality,
your taste and your belief. Fashion is one of the best means we have to express ourselves, and my advice is:
“Be different, be cool, be yourself!”
