Member Article

North East brand Berghaus launches outdoor performance hijab

North East outdoor brand Berghaus has launched its first hijab, designed to perform during a wide range of outdoor activities. Developed in collaboration with brand ambassador Zahrah Mahmood, also known as the Hillwalking Hijabi, the product was designed at the company’s Sunderland HQ and incorporates technical materials and features. The Berghaus hijab is intended to help remove barriers that discourage Muslim women from walking and climbing.

The Berghaus Hijab is the result of a three-year project that saw the brand’s product development department working closely with Zahrah to make a product that would allow the wearer to head outdoors without compromising on comfort, performance or faith. Over that time, the team focused on engineering a hijab that felt good to wear and solved some common problems that Muslim women face when exercising outdoors.

Based on a traditional scarf wrap style, the Berghaus hijab can be draped, folded and fastened to suit. This is much like an everyday hijab and sets the product apart in an outdoor activity setting, an important decision for Zahrah and Berghaus design lead, Kate Ablett.

Zahrah comments: “Myself and other hijabis I know often use the phrase ‘egg heads’ [for pull-on-style hijabs] as the material will just stick to you and not feel good.”

Kate adds: “I think we can all relate to when you feel good in something. It breeds confidence and ultimately can enhance your experience. So it became really important to make sure this wasn’t lost as we got into the performance elements.”

Berghaus has used a high performance next-to-skin Polartec Delta fabric to make a hijab that is lightweight, breathable, moisture-wicking and quick-drying. It’s also been designed to drape and lie around the face in the same way as a traditional hijab. Other design features include replacing the traditional pins that can fall out or jab the skin with studs that fasten at varying attachment points for a bespoke, secure fit. Berghaus also reduced the layers of fabric in key areas to aid temperature regulation and built the hijab on a shaped cap, which is held in place with a hidden headband, and knotted for security.

Zahrah, a passionate hillwalker and activist for inclusion in the outdoors, comments: “If you don’t feel properly equipped to be outdoors and hike, it doesn’t feel as though you belong. Seeing the Berghaus hijab come to life over the last three years feels amazing. I hope that the Berghaus hijabs make people feel included and valued, and that Muslim women can feel confident, secure and ready for anything while outdoors.”

Kate adds: “At Berghaus, we’re passionate about breaking down barriers to the outdoors. We want to use our specialist skills and knowledge to do what we can to make everyone feel confident to take that step, and the hijab is a great example of how we’re achieving that.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chris Lines .