By Zinie Chen Sampson

Associated Press Writer - Richmond, Virginia.

The assignment for Virginia Commonwealth University fashion students: design an abaya, an enveloping cloak worn by Muslim women, that is stylish yet acceptable in Arab countries.

The results: elaborately beaded designs, a flamenco-influenced abaya, a punk rock abaya, and perhaps a better understanding of cultural norms in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, where the university has had a campus for 10 years.

"We were trying to make a feeling of youth but still be true to their culture," said Kendra Palin, a fashion design major who partnered with classmate Shelby Day to design an abaya with looped buttonholes, princess seams and a high waist. "Everything else had to be black, but the embellishment could be any color, and we used silver and blue."