Halal International 2017 focuses on the Muslimah this year

Signage for the event.

MegaXpress, organiser of Halal International 2017, incorporated the World of Muslimah in the event this year. A significant portion of the showfloor was set aside for ladies' products.

The event, which ran from November 23 to 26 at Singapore Expo, also showcased the best of halal food and drink, as well as 'anchor' booth exhibitors such as fragrances, wedding services and furniture.

Halal International 2017 is in aid of the Muhammadiyah Association of Singapore.

Highlights of the event included:

A small section of booths by celebrities under the CELEBRANDS name featured popular local and overseas celebrities/artistes selling and promoting their own brand of products.
 

Ziana Zain launched her hijab fashion collection in 2016.

Juzash by Jasmine Ashraff had a Celebrands booth this year. 

Celebrity Liza Abdullah offered dresses incorporating peplum and ruffle details.

Exhibitors speak on stage about their wares. Here celebrity Hady Mirza (right, on stage) introduces his products at the show. 

Other fashion-related booths included:

The Innera brand of hijab "inners" feature headwear that can be worn underneath headscarves. Hashtag: #innerpal

Batiks at Mahmud Ali Basha. 

Modest swimwear was available from Graceful Swimmers.

While most of the fashion was for ladies, the Bin Sadin menswear collection was represented at Halal International 2017.

What is an event named "halal" without halal foods?

Tempting Trading by Hady Mirza sells sambals and sauces.

Dendeng - a halal version of bak kwa, traditionally barbecued pork slices - sold in tacos by Taco Dendeng. Hashtag: #tacoDendengDuo.

Unusual foods included lapis cake from Brunei - Kek Lapis Brunei - in rare flavours like mint.

Another stall offering cake in unusual flavours and textures, such as cheese, Nutella, or butterscotch. Lady Boss Bake Boutique had namecards in the shape of cupcakes.  

Intricately patterned cakes from MyZiff Bakers.

Visitors could also try KopieSatu durian coffee for S$8. The truck is an initiative from Agrobazaar, which promotes goods grown and produced in Malaysia. Agrobazaar's current fruit promotion is for the durian.

Camelus' camel milk powder and foods made from camel milk, including cookies. These are from Palmabrand Camel Milk, a Malaysia-based company that produces beauty, health and alternative food supplements from camel's milk. The cookies taste like normal cookies.

Sweet Monster halal-certified ice cream from Korea is available in Singapore.

The display at Zie's cookies by Naz Confection.

Gaharu Tea Valley Gopeng maintains its own plantation of agarwood (oud) trees which are used to formulate the drinks. The signage says gaharu is effective against diabetes. In an experiment with rats, an alcoholic extract made from gaharu lowered glucose levels even more than insulin.

Maiq Coffee, from Mt Rinjani, Lombok, Indonesia, had medium roast Arabica coffee at the event.

AmneLife sells stevia sweetener (foreground) and a product for detoxing (background).

Malaysia's Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) had a booth where fresh jackfruit was available for sale.

FAMA also had fresh durian on the scene.

Other items of note included:

The USaidizi Orphans Organisation supports orphans with HIV and AIDS in Tanzania, Africa. Leather goods were made of camel skin.

Hijra Timepiece clocks and watches run anticlockwise, and the numbers are in the Arabic script. Read more about them in the Suroor Asia blog post about Celebfest.

The Smart Sajadah (prayer rug) has pressure-sensitive sensors so it can track the number of rak'ah (prayer cycles) that have been completed. A compass locates qiblah direction, and various prayers are available. The sajadah costs RM179 online.

Mini e-Qurans from Muslim Valley.

E-marketplace Aladdin Street had a recruitment programme on. Read the Suroor Asia blog post about Aladdin Street's launch in 2016.

The booth for the Muhammadiyah Association, which is the event recipient this year.

Zolace aims to attract more Muslimah shoppers with website revamp

Malaysia's Zolace, an online boutique for Muslimah women, launched a new website late last year. The company aims to become the biggest online shopping website that sells female Muslim apparel and one of the major online retailers in Malaysia and Singapore, and offers free shipping with no minimum order requirement to Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. 

Source: Zolace website.

According to Zolace’s website, the company specialises in a number of popular items for Muslimah women, including accessories such as bags, jewellery, and shoes, as well as clothing from dresses to pants. Zolace’s list of bestselling items includes pieces such as baju kurung, tudung bawal, shawl, blouses, maxi dresses, long skirts, sling bags, tote bags, necklaces, and sexy lingerie. 

The company’s products aim for comfort, affordability and style—three qualities that are important to any Muslimah woman interested in keeping up with the latest trends, it says.

The company welcomes international shoppers, charging a flat express shipping fee outside of Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei as well as free shipping worldwide if the order is above US$100.

“I bought this dress Muslimah because I wanted something of a classical cut that could work in pretty much any situation,” said Miey Nabilah from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, who purchased a black 'Elyana Dress Muslimah'. 

“The Elyana dress is good quality, and the fabric allows me to wear it in humid weather, which we all know is a really important quality for clothes we wear in this climate. I also find it very easy to pair with any tudung I want to wear, probably because of its colour and cut.”