As we head into the new year with optimism and hope for a fresh start, so many of us are reflecting on all that happened in 2020. From the pandemic to social unrest to a tumultuous presidential election, it was a year marked by events that impacted each of us. For Haute Hijab – our team, the women we serve and the communities we care about – the challenges of 2020 did not go unnoticed or unexperienced. But neither did the silver linings that would not have been made possible without your incredible support of our mission. Please join us as we take a look back at some amazing moments we accomplished together.

It has been ten years since Melanie and Ahmed’s mission to create a world where every woman feels comfortable and confident was born! Celebrations started with official HH merch, including coffee mugs and our glossy new Haute Hijab magazine full of inspiring stories, style tips, hair care and more! All this in addition to our HH totes, which made their debut the year before.

We also hosted an exciting treasure hunt across our social media channels, an in-depth discussion on the American Muslim identity, some crazy-good giveaways, and the iconic Golden Ticket surprise, found by 50 lucky winners!

Not only did we celebrate our major anniversary milestone this year, but we also introduced game-changing products. In January, the small but mighty No-Snag Hijab Magnets made their debut and have become a favorite of our fans. Sleek and incredibly strong, these magnets allowed us to finally get rid of our pins! Poking holes in our hijabs (and sometimes ourselves) quickly became a thing of the past.

This year also brought us new, custom developed jersey colors! It was hard to choose between all the stunning new colors like Raisin and Deep Fig, which are both gorgeous and universally flattering.

In September, our long-anticipated line, Haute Hijab Sport, was released, with four carefully-designed hijabs addressing a plethora of needs and pain points from our community. Nothing short of blood, sweat and tears brought forth the exceptional quality and innovative design of HH Sport. Your excitement and reception to this launch blew us all away and made every moment leading up to it so much more special. From those who are athletes to those who enjoy daily walks and everyone in between – this was for you.

One of the best things about the new sport line is the ongoing "Can’t Ban Us campaign," featuring basketballer Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, cross-country runner Noor Alexandria Abukaram, triathlete Jerri Villarreal, yoga instructor/practitioner Afia Yunus, and soccer players Sabrina and May Ahmed. The campaign hit a nerve and sparked a discussion about our place in sports and the obstacles many hijabi athletes face. While all this was unfolding, we learned of Tennessee high school volleyball player Najah Aqeel, and how she had to sit out on the second game in her season because of her hijab, a story we’ve closely covered. One thing is clear: We can dominate any space while standing tall in our convictions and our hijab. #Can'tBanUs

Creating more sustainably-sourced and eco-friendly products has always been important to us. From starting off repurposing vintage scarves into hijabs to sourcing our prints from leftover (deadstock) fabric otherwise destined for the landfill, we continued our commitment to utilize sustainable materials in more of our products and business practices. In fact, HH Sport features S.Cafe fabric, which is made out of coffee grounds!

Immediately following HH Sport, our new and improved woven collection came back better than ever. Featuring a more eco-friendly, sustainably processed bamboo fabric, the new Wovens provide powerful benefits. With built-in sun protection, breathability, temperature regulation, and anti-bacterial properties, they were definitely worth the wait!

Our new ambassador program took off earlier this year, bringing together a dynamic group of women to represent Haute Hijab. They each bring unique talents, a positive impact, and so much passion to the #HHFam. We are so excited to continue working with these amazing ladies. You can meet them and learn more about who they are here!

We would be remiss if we didn’t reflect on how the global pandemic touched us at HH. The pandemic brought fear and anxiety as our office, like countless others, turned remote and we pivoted our campaigns and work to see how we could give back and help our communities. Healthcare workers were putting their lives on the line to treat and protect the rest of us. So, we launched a campaign to donate 250 hijabs to healthcare workers who were having to take extreme measures to protect and clean themselves. Within 45 minutes, we had reached capacity! Our entire community rallied to take the initiative further, and the donations just kept going, resulting in over 1,000 donated hijabs, Masha’Allah!

A few months later, during the last week of Ramadan, HH proudly partnered with ICNA Relief and donated a portion of proceeds from all sales in that final week to ICNA Relief’s Transitional Housing Program. Once again, the HH community came together to maximize our donation Alhamdullilah!

We also worked to provide resources and stories about how we could all maximize our worship during a Ramadan like no other, with our masajid closed and communal worship pretty much cancelled. On the first of December (Giving Tuesday), we continued the spirit of giving by donating a portion of proceeds to ICNA Relief’s Hunger Prevention Program. We chose to support this particular program to help the growing number of families losing their jobs and facing food insecurity due to the pandemic. The #HHFam stepped up again, and we are so grateful to our community for helping us give back.

Amid the health scare, we all reckoned with a systemic injustice: rampant racism especially among those in power. The murder of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer sparked protests and pushed so many of us to reckon with systemic racism and anti-Black biases that had been festering around us for decades. Massive Black Lives Matter protests around the world took place throughout the summer. Haute Hijab put out an infographic with safety tips for those protesting in hijab and participated in the Stop Hate For Profit campaign, pausing all Facebook advertising during July.

HH also hosted an Instagram takeover featuring Zahra Aljabri, who discussed how achieving racial justice starts by facing our internal bias. We also held a live HH halaqa on Instagram, Opening Our Eyes About Racism, with Layla Abdullah-Poulos. We stepped back to listen, learn and support Black voices. It feels weird to even talk about this, as it’s not meant to be a pat on the back to ourselves. All of us have so much to learn, so many implicit biases to confront in ourselves. It is an ongoing effort that we will carry into the new year, because this kind of work should never stop.

What better way to get through a tough year than by enjoying the adorable babies of Haute Hijab? Three of our team members – Mona, Lindsay and Justine – were blessed with babies this year. They have been making guest appearances in our Zoom meetings and lighting up our screens ever since their lovely mamas came back from maternity leave. Congratulations to all the new moms and dads this year! (And lots of new pets, too!)

What. A. Year. It was a tough one full of uncertainty and surprises but together, we made it! Alhamdullilah for what was and what is to come. May we all truly learn from what we all have gone through and endured, seek healing and trust in Allah (S) and emerge stronger.