It Wasn't Itsy-Bitsy Teeny-Weeny But a Cover All Burkini

The swimwear is Islamic; the models are not:

Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) -- Hair driers blast air and racks of clothing clatter past as organizers make their final preparations for a fashion show.

Some of the backstage bustle is downright comical. Short Turkish women, carefully wrapped up in trench-coats and brightly-colored Muslim headscarves, struggle to help towering, leggy models from Slavic and Latin countries change in and out of outfits.

This is not your typical fashion show. The show is highlighting Islamic women's clothing -- even though very few of the models working here are Muslim.

"Listen, I'm coming from Venezuela [where] we are always walking in shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops. Not afraid to show it. But here it's totally different," said Cristina Buderacky, a model who stood more then six feet tall in a peach-colored lycra outfit that resembled a pair of long-sleeved pyjamas with blousy trousers.

She later made a half-serious plea for help as a Turkish woman slipped a two-piece "bonnet" over her head. The headpiece tightly covered Buderacky's hair, leaving only her neck and face exposed.

Nearby, a Russian-speaking model dressed in a sky-blue version of the same outfit whispered to a friend, "I look like a clown."

Moments later, to the soundtrack of throbbing dance music, the women strutted across the stage dressed in an array of these pastel-colored costumes. The costumes are part of a swimsuit collection.

Known as Hasema after the Turkish company that manufactures them, the full-body suits are designed to let conservative women swim and exercise at the beach or pool without being too revealing.

Turan Kisa, an export marketer for Hasema, said the suits are exported to 35 countries.
"Muslim women are choosing these models," he said holding up a sequin-embroidered lilac-colored full-body bathing suit. "Especially the last five years, Muslim women [are] really following fashion."

According to the manufacturers at this trade show, the Islamic women's fashion industry is growing and evolving. It also seems to be co-opting sales and marketing methods perfected in the secular fashion world...

I hear it's the fastest growing fashion industry in the world.