In the new series "MC Muse," savvy women from around the world share their styles, ambitions, and the items they most want to buy right now.

Melanie Eltaq, a Muslim-American teen who is the daughter of Lebanese and Filipino immigrants, found it unnecessarily difficult to find stylish, quality hijabs in her hometown of Detroit. Her options were limited, either hoarding hijabs while traveling abroad or reluctantly purchasing bulky neck scarves at a local department store

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Eltak was not alone in her frustration. During law school, as an active participant in Detroit's Muslim community, she began to notice that Muslim high school students were abandoning the hijab altogether. The girls had no role models to look up to and say, "Wow, look at that woman wearing the hijab and kicking butt." She was successful because she was wearing a hijab, not because she was wearing a hijab," Erturk explains. (In a blog post, Erturk names Ilan Omar, the first Somali-American Muslim congressman, as someone she hopes will inspire young Muslim women today)

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In 2010, Eltaq was a part-time civil rights attorney, but as a longtime fashion enthusiast, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She began sourcing and selling vintage scarves to wrap around her head, as she had done for years. Six years later, she and her husband embarked on a full-time job launching an e-commerce site, Haute Hijab. The site offers Muslim women an array of hijabs for all occasions, including sports, without compromising quality, comfort, or modesty.

Creating elaborately crafted hijabs and a successful shopping platform was an important part of the couple's business plan, but Eltaq did not focus solely on products. She added a blog to tackle topics ranging from parenting tips to politics to spirituality, topics that Muslim women care about but are not often covered by the mainstream media. She says, "I wanted to address the essential issues of why we wear [the hijab], its importance, and showcase examples of amazing, successful women who wear it."

This year, Eltaq plans to take the company global. The company will begin expanding in the United Kingdom in the second quarter and aims to expand into the Middle East by the end of 2021. International expansion will bring El-Turk one step closer to its overall goal of having Haute Hijab reign as the best hijab brand in the world.

We spoke with the busy CEO about her role in the Muslim community, her new focus on streetwear, and her commitment to imparting wisdom on Instagram.

Marie Claire: First, tell us about your career trajectory.

Melanie Elturk: I got married and moved to Chicago in 2009 and started a company with my husband while I was still in my legal career. The website was sort of a passion project that I was doing on the side. A few years later, our business moved to Dubai. The country, the United Arab Emirates, was still in its infancy, so I was basically working in law making. Then came 2014 and we started getting interest from investors in New York. My wife and I wanted to return home anyway, so in 2016 we both quit our jobs and pursued the business full time. Over the past four or five years, we raised several rounds of funding, built a team, and set up an office in downtown Manhattan.

MC: Did your own style change as you moved from Detroit to Dubai to New York?

ME: I've been wearing heels since the seventh grade, but my shoe choices (in New York) have definitely changed. I wear much more comfortable shoes now. Last year, I also ventured into the world of streetwear. It was a return to my roots in Detroit. I felt like I had come full circle, wearing the Ralph Lauren windbreakers, Tommy Hilfiger polo shirts, and rugby shirts I wore in high school.

I dress based on the energy I felt that morning. If I'm feeling really happy and excited that day, I might wear bright colors. If I'm sleepy and sluggish, I'll wear an oversized sweater. If I have a meeting with investors, I'll wear a collared shirt and a blazer. I love wearing clothes. I love clothes. It's a lot of fun. Sheikha Moza (wife of the former emir and mother of the current emir. She is like my muse. I'm crazy about her. Her style is out of this world.

MC: Tell us about your blog.

ME: [At first] it was my one post. I wrote mostly about my interests, like styling tips and fashion hacks. Eventually, I hired a blog editor who used a team of freelance writers. We asked ourselves what we could do to enrich the lives of our consumers. Unfortunately, I believe that even within our community, the conversation can be unhelpful or less than honest. She needs realistic topics such as faith, children, going to school, successful job interviews, hijab style tips, parenting, etc.

MC: How has social media changed the way you do business?

ME: The Muslim community is very diverse and fragmented around the world. The only way we can reach consumers is online. We have a lot of Instagram ambassadors that fit our brand values. Instagram is managed by me alone, but it's a great way to engage with our customers and our community. People know it's me and I can communicate directly with them, which I think is a huge advantage for our brand. I go live on Instagram and talk crap (with my followers), so they coined the term "Aunt Mel." It's a really fun, candid, and raw conversation. If a follower asks me a question, I pass on what little knowledge I have. I think this sense of connection and community is really important to our success.

A version of this article appears in the Spring 2021 issue of Marie Claire.

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