Faith, fashion, fusion: Sarah Chaabo

During the course of developing the Faith, fashion, fusion exhibition, we interviewed many Muslim women out and about on the streets of Sydney about their faith and style. Pictured here is Marinco Kojdanovski, our photographer, and myself interviewing Sarah Chaabo outside Lakemba mosque in Sydney during the 2011 Eid prayers. We photographed Sarah for our street scene shoot which features in the exhibition, publication and website. You can see her here.

Sarah says:

I came to Australia at the age of 4 from North Lebanon. I am proud of my dual citizenship and have strong ties to both homelands. Like a chameleon of sorts, my style changes as often as my mood and is appropriated to where I am. I shop everywhere from high streets and designer sales to Vinnies. I love shopping overseas as well, but I really think we have it good here in terms of variety. It is overpriced, however. I would never pay retail for anything when in less than a month it’ll be on sale! I have fun with style and I’m definitely not a ‘one look’ girl. In all my circles of friends I’m dubbed the ‘stylish one’ and am always asked to accompany people on shopping trips or give them advice on how to accessorise, dress, etc. which I’m always up for. I believe in an ‘open wardrobe policy’, whereby I am always lending my clothes to my friends; after all everything I own is by the provision of God and spiritually I believe this form of self ‘attachment’ to possessions is a form of spiritual idolatry. Didn’t Brad Pitt say in Fight Club ‘The things you own..own you’? I love that I can make people happy in this way. They miss out on the shoes unfortunately – I’m a tiny size 6!

Melanie Pitkin, Assistant Curator,Curatorial Design & Society
Photography by Sotha Bourn
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Tags: fashion, interviews, Muslims, style, women