• Nawal Sari is a young Muslim Australian creator with more than 300,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok.
• Sari posts fashion and beauty content that she says is “redefining modest fashion” .
• As part of Business Insider Australia’s ‘Under The Influence’ series, Sari spoke about using social media to grow an audience of people who were interested in the fashion, beauty advice and life of a young, hijab-wearing woman in Australia.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

Nawal Sari wished she had a poster of someone like her on her wall when she was young. Growing up, the 22-year-old Australian didn’t think that Muslim women could go into creative industries like fashion.

Her experiences working as fashion and beauty creator changed that. Sidestepping traditional pathways into the industry, Sari has made her own way by building a following — many of whom are women from diverse backgrounds — through social media who wanted to see an authentic creator who looks and acts like them.

Sari spoke to Business Insider Australia for the ‘Under The Influence’ series, which interviews Australia’s top online content makers about their content, career, how they make money, and what sets them apart from other creators.

How would you describe your work in a sentence?

Untraditional and scary, yet necessary and overdue.

Tell us about your audience: how big is it, who and where are they?

I have over 300,000 followers over both Instagram and TikTok. The majority of my followers are women between the ages 18 and 24. A lot of my followers are Muslim and commonly wear the hijab. I post fashion and beauty-focused content and I also wear the hijab so I understand why I have drawn in a community of amazing women who share the same passions. Although fashion is fashion and non-exclusive, so a lot of my audience come from so many diverse backgrounds.

Before you started creating content professionally, what did you do?

When I finished high school in 2016, I made it into university to study international studies, a degree that was very based in political and humanitarian content. I thought this was what I wanted for myself at a young age due to pushing aside my childhood dreams of being in the fashion industry.

The determination to do something very 9-5 and traditional was because I thought Muslim women weren’t welcome within the creative industry. Growing up I grew a lot of resentment towards the media due to the misrepresentation of my community and unrealistic beauty standards placed on women, this made me strive to ‘settle’ and find acceptance in a career I would be ‘welcome’ in.

I was working 2 retail jobs through university up until early 2020. I changed degrees in 2018 to communications and advertising and later signed with my management who pushed me to see the potential in myself and helped me secure positions I wouldn’t have been able to without the right team.

When did you first decide to go pro?

It was a slow transition. I always had social media as a side hustle and never thought a Muslim, hijab wearing woman residing in Australia would be able to reach opportunities I dreamed of. I would say 2020 really let me reflect and understand my potential, like many creatives.

For me, deciding to go pro meant actively and authentically representing myself but also my community of women. There aren’t many Muslim women in similar positions to me and there is a lot of pressure to make the right moves.

It sounds scary and it is. But I’m happy to do it. Little Nawal wished she saw a happy and empowered Muslim, Hijabi and ethnically diverse woman on posters. If I can show my younger sisters in my community they don’t need to conform to societal standards or jeopardise their identity to fit in, this is all worth it.

What’s your average day like?

I would love to say I have 6AM yoga and meditations but I’m a 22 year old fresh out of university. The only consistency I can say I have daily is aiming to pray 5 times a day, take my vitamins (when I’m not rushing out the door) and staying active online.

I interact with my audience constantly, I post at least once a day, do research on content ideas on all platforms and drag someone close to me to help me take pictures.

There are a million creators out there, but you’re one of the best. What separates you from other creators?

I’d hope it’s due to being authentically me but also because I have a deep passion for redefining the negative stigma on my community. It helps me stay humbled, aligned and in-love with what I do. My parents told me when I was 18 when i wanted to post my outfits online that they would only support what I do if I have a purpose for it, that I should post my passions to inspire and educate or I’m simply doing it for the wrong reasons. That’s always stuck with me.

@nawalsari

I tested out @itembeauty on my igtv today! What do you guys think of the final look? ???????????? ##itembeauty @addisonre ##fyp ##hijab ##makeup

♬ Gravity (feat. Tyler, The Creator) – Brent Faiyaz & DJ Dahi

What other Aussie creators are doing work that you like?

There are so many but a few of my faves are @bvisualized and @iamhananibrahim on instagram and @@ace.pdf on tiktok. They’re amazing women who all have a driven purpose and continue to support other women.

What do you think you’ll be doing in 5 years?

Hopefully doing fashion weeks all over the world, providing for my family, being a home owner and working within a space that invites people from all communities and backgrounds. There’s a lot of work to do and I would hope some of it would have paid off.

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