Meet the woman reinventing frum fashion and looking to Kate Middleton for inspiration

“Time has a way of leading us to unexpected destinations,” says Chaya Baumgarten, the founder-editor of Valour, a magazine that celebrates modest fashion.

Her life certainly illustrates this. Raised in the religious community of Bnei Brak in Israel, at the age of 16 she went to seminary in Gateshead. Two years later she got married, in London, and went on to have three children. But after the birth of her third child, Baumgarten enrolled in the London College of Fashion – “I have always loved the visual” – and soon after began working as a stylist for Selfridges.

She set up Valour magazine in 2019 because she saw a gap in the market for Orthodox women like her. “I sought to establish a high-end magazine that celebrates modest fashion. There is no religious injunction which says you can’t have a personal style or get dressed in a particular colour.”

Chaya Baumgarten, founder and editor of Valour.[Missing Credit]

As well as fashion edits – “from Zara to Prada” – the quarterly magazine runs travel, health and business features and has interviews with inspirational working Jewish women in the workplace. The latest autumn 2024 edition, for example, has a lengthy fashion fashion shoot from Italy, an interview with the influencer Lizzy Savetsky, table décor tips for Rosh Hashanah, and a feature about a Jewish travel app. Feedback for the publication, which last year sold 18,000 copies across the world, has been positive, she says. “Readers say it has brought the beauty back into Jewish life. A rebbetzen got in touch to say that showing inspirational women is good for younger generations.”

In Britain the publication began its life with 100 copies in which a modest £1,000 had been invested. “I was very nervous no one would buy it, but Kosher Kingdom, in Golders Green, stocked it and it is now sold in all Jewish supermarkets across Britain and in Jewish shops, petrol station and hotels in America. Subscriptions are increasing and the autumn edition includes a distribution to South Africa. Before, women had been privately shipping copies from America and the UK.”

[Missing Credit]

Crucially, the magazine’s growth reflects an interested in modest fashion, a global industry estimated to be worth around £225 billion, way beyond the Orthodox world. Baumgarten cites the growing success of womenswear brands such as Temperley, Wyse and ME+EM known for the “classic and timeless luxury” of tailored blazers, well-cut shirts and looser-line dresses. “Fashion isn’t just about being short and tight. The ’midi’ dress, for example, has stayed popular for a number of years.”

When celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Meryl Streep don modest fashion on the red carpet, it helps too, she says. “And Kate Middleton is a strong example of a style icon who dresses in a very respectful and modest way.” Many high- street and online brands such as Asos, H&M and Nike also include “modest edits” in their collections.

Kate Middleton's style serves as inspiration for modest fashion that can be worn by Orthodox women. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)Getty Images

The self-care trend has also been helpful, she says. “Women are embracing modest fashion as a way of expressing themselves confidently and authentically. And a growing number are taking to platforms such as Instagram and TikTok to present themselves, and what they think looks good on them, rather than just follow big brands. Social media encourages an experimentation with styles.”

Less happily, social media has also been the source of some antisemitism. “When we collaborate with brands, there have been some unpleasant comments. We don’t engage, we just focus on the job.”