The Malaysian pop star talks about moving to LA at 24, her mother’s style and how her refusal to compromise on modesty led to success as the face of Uniqlo

“When I started out, people were like: ‘Oh just take it off, it’s no big deal.’ But I like wearing a headscarf,” says Yunalis Mat Zara’ai, better known as Yuna, the Malaysian-born pop star who is the face of Uniqlo’s first hijab line in the UK.



“Muslim girls, we love fashion! Whether we wear the hijab or not – it’s our choice – and it’s time the industry took note. Finally, fashion stores are open to that idea,” says the 30-year-old, who has bossed the US Billboard charts as well as those in south-east Asia.

“There’s a lot of buying power from the Middle East,” she says. “Girls from Dubai want to be able to wear Asos, and you have people travelling all the way to the States just to go shopping.”

I’m speaking to Yuna on the phone from Kuala Lumpur – where she is queuing at a KFC drive-through. She says: “There might not be many Muslim singers out there doing what I do, but I feel like 90% of the artists here are Muslim. So to me, the world is catching up.”

“Doing what I do” for Yuna means releasing three critically acclaimed albums of soul-inspired pop, working with Pharrell and DJ Premier, and all the while picking up various Malaysian accolades. She sings in English and Malay, and sells out shows in London as easily as Singapore. She has had tracks in the US Billboard R&B chart, including Crush, a duet with Usher.

Yuna’s breakout began when she moved to Los Angeles aged 24 to work in music, and says she compromised on nothing. “Normally, if you’re a girl doing [pop music], you have to be ‘pretty’ – meaning showing off your body, your hair. That’s a normal thing. I get it, I have nothing against it, but it’s just not me.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Yuna plays at the Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in LA last November. Photograph: Scott Dudelson/WireImage

The fashion thing came almost as an adjunct to the music, and her success has surprised her: “I honestly don’t know how it started, this hijabi fashion thing, but I’m glad it has. I like the style that I have, it’s my identity.”

Growing up, she was always into style. “I used to read a lot of fashion magazines: my favourite was Nylon. I used to cut out all the pictures from magazines and I had this book where I would keep all of the stuff that inspired me.”



Two icons in particular inspired her fashion sense. “I love Gwen Stefani. I’d watch what she’d wear over and over again and think, how do I nail this style? And then, I like that classic beauty, too. Audrey Hepburn, she’s so elegant. I think I learned that from her – there was something about that style I really loved. When I’m thinking about what to wear, it has to be kind of fun and edgy, but elegant and classy, too.”



And then she still steals her mum’s stuff. “As she got older, her fashion sense changed a little bit, but I still always want to wear her clothes. She will find these chequered palazzo pants and I will be like: ‘Those are dope, where did you get them?’, and she will have picked them up from some market for $20. Her scarves, I also take them.”



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Scarves are the focus of another recent Yuna collaboration, this time with the Malaysian modest clothing label, LosraVelda. “I had rarely collaborated on hijab fashion,” she says. “Then, when they came to me, they were so passionate and hungry for new ideas that I got inspired by them.”



These scarves come in almost every colour. Some feature her lyrics, others intricate floral prints and bold graphic designs. “I’m very green,” she says. “My style is experimental. We didn’t want to focus on just hijabs, either: this is for everybody.”

Yuna’s current favourite designers hail from Malaysia. “I really like Hatta Dolmat. He’s one of my best friends and he’s always down to try something new,” she says. “For an awards show, he did this dress that’s made with silver chains. I was mad at him because it was so heavy! His collections are so over the top in the best way. And he really listens. If I give him an idea he will listen. Craftsmanship is my No 1 thing with designers, and he has that down.” She also recently co-founded a lifestyle shop, November Culture, which is based in Malaysia.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Yuna onstage in Berlin last September. Photograph: Frank Hoensch/Redferns

Then there is Bernard Chandran. “He’s a huge name in the Malaysian fashion scene and one of the few Malaysians who has made it outside of Malaysia. Lady Gaga has worn his designs once or twice – he is super talented and a really nice guy.”

Last year, following a successful run in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, Uniqlo launched its hijab line in the UK, by British designer Hana Tajima, and Yuna was its face. So what does she look for in a hijab?



“Material is key. You have to find the right one according to how you like to style your scarf. So for me, I like wearing the turban, so I would need something that’s not so slippery. So satin isn’t a good choice for me but the sheen on it is really nice, so you can tie a head wrap with those kinds of materials and use some pins to help you out. Which kind of sucks sometimes but you have to do it!

“I like viscose, and cotton works really well. Stay away from thick materials: you can’t wear pashmina material as a head scarf. It would just get so thick and heavy.”

She shops for material wherever she is, and is always on the lookout. “I normally just go to fabric stores. We have them in Malaysia but in LA, I really love the prints and the cotton material. If I’m in LA before going on tour, I always pay a visit to the nearest store and get two yards of each print. That’s what I wear on tour. There’s one called The Fabric Store, which is close to where I live. That’s my favourite: it has such cool stuff.

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“My favourite scarf I’m wearing right now – it’s something I got from Muji. They have really good scarves in strong, solid colours, and the material is amazing. I like the texture, it’s kind of wrinkly. I bought them in every colour. I shop a lot in Muji.”

Yet, before she moved to the US, it could have all been so different. People warned her that Islamophobia was huge there, and the transition from national to global pop star could not have been an easy one for a young Muslim girl, right?

Wrong, apparently. “There’s no real challenge being a Muslim singer,” Yuna says. “If you think it’s difficult then it will be, but I’ve always been positive. When I first moved, people said: ‘Are you sure you want to?’

“I guess the hardest thing is, people know one part of me and they want to talk about that instead of my music – but if people have questions, I’m here to answer them.”