Muslim model Halima Aden on faith and facing opposition

When Halima Aden was six, a western woman visited Kakuma, the United Nations refugee camp in Kenya in which she had been born. To this day, Aden — who was living in the camp with her Somali mother and baby brother — does not know who she was. A UN representative perhaps? Or a celebrity?

“All I know is that, just by being there, she made my people light up,” explains Aden when we meet in a café in east London: she is in town to take part in the Modest Fashion Festival, an event aimed at empowering Muslim women. “She was asking them questions, finding out what they needed, making them feel like they hadn’t been forgotten. Seeing the effect that she had changed something in me; it made me want to make some sort of a difference with my life. To have that sort of effect.”

Today, the 20-year-old model — a naturalised American since the family made the move to Minnesota when she was seven years old — is making history. In November 2016, as a freshman at St Cloud State University, she entered in the Miss Minnesota USA beauty pageant, for which she wore a hijab and then a burkini, attracting the attention of the world’s press in the process. Although she placed in the top 15 of 45 contestants, she lost — but she went on to become the first hijab-wearing model to be signed to the model agency IMG.

She was then picked up by the former Vogue Paris editor and stylist Carine Roitfeld (“my fashion fairy godmother” as Aden describes her), who put her on the February issue of her magazine CR Fashion Book. Aden has also shot covers for several magazines — Vogue Arabia, Grazia and Allure among them — and fronted campaigns for brands such as Nike and American Eagle. In February, at Milan Fashion Week, she walked the catwalk at Alberta Ferretti and at MaxMara. She walked again for MaxMara SS18 in September wearing a raw denim jacket, scarlet lipstick and black skirt.

A charismatic, confident speaker, Aden is full of self-deprecating stories about her first major runway experience; how at only 5ft 5in, a good five inches smaller than most other models and a great deal shorter of leg, she practically had to run to keep up; how she had to have low-level heels designed for her so that she didn’t fall over, and how the compulsory dead-ahead catwalk glare was an impossible challenge for someone with her light-up disposition. When telling a story doesn’t quite illustrate her point, she leaps out of her seat to act it all out.

Her warmth is infectious, her friendliness palpable. Strangers in the café are greeted by an enthusiastic “hi!” Yet her giggly personality belies a serious mind. “I have an opportunity, through my modelling, to change the way that Muslim women are viewed, to give them a platform to have their voices heard,” she continues. “I’m mindful, and proud, of that responsibility.”

Aden’s presence at the shows has already had a subtle influence on the culture and attitudes that attend the job of modelling itself. In Milan, in an environment where nudity is the norm, Aden is a rare anomaly. Her faith dictates unique requirements including a cordoned-off dressing room, a chaperone accompaniment at all times and female-only hair and make-up stylists. In a business where models are expected to change in full view of scores of strangers, she’s hopeful that her needs might indirectly bring about a shift in attitude, helping brands to see all models as individuals.

Aden’s arrival on the fashion scene is timely. In a contentious political and social environment — where diversity has become a watchword for freedom — she represents Muslim beauty in an industry that is starting to embrace cultural inclusivism but remains largely ignorant of her faith. Aden is determined not to become a token, but she’s not naive. “If what is happening to me is simply the fashion community making some sort of fleeting statement then I am going to make that statement work as hard as it can,” she says. “I treat every job as if it’s my last.”

As well as her modelling work, she is also taking on more ambassadorial roles. Next month, she is due to speak at Princeton University. She is also actively involved with Unicef and recently visited victims of the earthquake in a refugee camp in Mexico. But when Aden decided to enter the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, it was not, she insists, as a targeted political statement.

“I did it because I wanted to do it. Because, like every other girl who entered — and there were so many inspiring girls, by the way, neuroscientists, nurses, smart girls with horizons beyond Minnesota — I wanted to stand up and say ‘This is me and I’m proud of who I am’.” She had never had modelling aspirations, and was not particularly interested in clothes. The appeal was twofold; girls placed in pageants can get scholarships for their college education and the winner usually goes on to forge relationships with charitable organisations. Yet her decision to enter the pageant was often clouded with doubt.

“There was a lot of opposition from my community,” she recalls. “Many of them thought that it was inappropriate.” A lot of the pressure, rather than being applied to her, was put on to her mother, a devout Muslim and single parent who made the decision to raise her children in the land of opportunity. “My mum is a strong woman,” she says. “In the end, she supported my decision to be who my heart told me to be.”

Her faith, and the way that she chooses to dress to express her beliefs, have always been secondary to who she is. “I’ve never let my life be ruled by segregation,” she says. “Jocks, Muslims, swimmers, dancers, they’re all the same to me,” says the girl who had never experienced discrimination before she came to America. “In the camp, there were no cliques. Race didn’t matter, gender didn’t matter, religion didn’t matter. When life is stripped back to its barest essentials, everyone is one and the same.”

For all the naysayers — and there are still plenty of them, not just strict Muslims, but also non-Muslims who view the hijab as a symbol of subjugation — Aden is fast acquiring an army of devoted fans. Of @kinglimaa’s almost 400,000 Instagram followers, a huge percentage are young Muslim girls. “I want all girls, whatever their shape, size or colour, to know that the most beautiful thing they can be is themselves.”

In the camp, there were no cliques. Race didn’t matter, gender didn’t matter, religion didn’t matter

Aden’s success looks set to continue. Western fashion houses are now being more proactive in recognising the demands of their Muslim clients. Dolce & Gabbana launched a collection last year that included hijabs; Nike has developed a lightweight “Pro Hijab” that Aden wore on the cover of Allure magazine this summer, and the denim hijab that she modelled for American Eagle’s #WeAllCan campaign this autumn was a sellout. That said, there is still a long way to go. Four of the summer shows that Aden was pencilled in last season fell through because the clothes were too revealing. “But, you know what?” says Aden. “Muslim women don’t stop shopping because it’s the spring. Winter isn’t the only season we like clothes. There’s still a lot of change that needs to happen.”

A hard worker from the age of 16 (she worked as a hospital aide to support her studies), Aden is ambitious to make her mark on the world and is prepared to move wherever her work takes her. She is thin — a legacy from a malnourished childhood — but is starting to try to eat well and work out so that she can look her best. Working as a Muslim model in the industry has given her a fascinating perspective on the physical scrutiny most other models are put under. And in many ways, she argues, she has a rare advantage. “‘I don’t have to show the world my body. I don’t have to worry about ‘You’re too skinny’, ‘You’re too thick’, ‘Look at her hips’, ‘Look at her thigh gap’. And, when I go to work, everyone I work with falls over themselves to accommodate my needs. I mean, what other young model gets to have someone with them at all times, looking after their interests?”

Aden is grateful for the support she has; not just her family and management but also those influential fashion figures. Roitfeld treats her like a daughter. For the issue of her magazine on which Aden appeared on the cover, Roitfeld commissioned Iman, that most famous of Somali-born beauties, to interview her natural successor. What advice, I wonder, did she give? “She told me to look after my skin, drink plenty of water and to stay true to myself,” she recalls. ‘They will meet you where you stand,’ she said. How cool is that?”

Halima Aden: Timeline

November 2016

Halima Aden, above right, stands with other contestants in the preliminary round of the Miss Minnesota USA pageant in Burnsville. She placed in the final 15.

February 2017

Former Vogue Paris editor and stylist Carine Roitfeld selected Halima Aden to grace the cover of her biannual magazine CR Fashion Book.

February 2017

On the catwalk for Alberta Ferretti AW17 during Milan Fashion Week. The show was also styled by Carine Roitfeld.

March 2017

Halima Aden working for Unicef.

September 2017

Halima Aden on the catwalk for MaxMara SS18, during Milan Fashion Week. She was pencilled for further shows but had to cancel when the outfits were thought to be too revealing at the fittings.

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Photographs: Gabby Laurent; Alamy; Catwalking.com; Unicef USA; REX/Shutterstock