Halima Aden is a Somali-American fashion model. She is noted for being the first woman to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, where she was a semi-finalist. Following her participation in the pageant, Halima received national attention and was signed to

IMG Models IMG Models is an international modeling agency headquartered in New York City and with additional offices in London, Los Angeles, Milan, Paris, and Sydney. It is a subsidiary of the talent management company International Management Group. The c ...

. She was also the first model to wear a hijab and burkini in the

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue The ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue is published annually by American magazine ''Sports Illustrated'' and features female fashion models, celebrities and athletes wearing swimwear in various locales around the world. The highly coveted c ...

. In 2021 she was named as one of the BBC's 100 Women.

Early life and education

Aden was born in the

Kakuma Kakuma is a town in northwestern Turkana County, Kenya. It is the site of a UNHCR refugee camp, established in 1992. The population of Kakuma town was 60,000 in 2014, having grown from around 8,000 in 1990. In 1991, the camp was established to hos ...

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced pe ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. She is

Somali Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Soma ...

and at the age of six moved to the United States, settling in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She attended Apollo High School where her classmates voted her as their school

homecoming queen Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

. She is a student at

St. Cloud State University St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. Its enrollment in 2020 was approximately ...

Career

In 2016, Aden received national media attention after competing in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, she becoming the first contestant in the pageant to wear a burkini and a hijab. Some analysts saw this as a move towards diversification in the modeling industry. The following year, Aden signed a three-year contract with renewal with

. In February 2017, she made her debut at the

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general publ ...

for Yeezy Season 5. She later served as a preliminary and telecast judge of the

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pageant. She has since walked for numerous designers, including Maxmara and Alberta Ferretti. She has also participated in the 2016

Milan Fashion Week Milan Fashion Week ( it, Settimana della moda) is a clothing trade show held semi-annually in Milan, Italy. The autumn/winter event is held in February/March of each year, and the spring/summer event is held in September/October of each year. It ...

and London Modest Fashion Week. Aden posed for American Eagle and British

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, and has a CR Fashion Book cover. Aden was the first hijab-wearing model to walk international runways and to be signed to a major agency. In June 2017, she became the first hijab-wearing model on the cover of ''

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'', '' Allure'', and ''British Vogue''. In 2018, Aden became a UNICEF ambassador. Her work is focused around children's rights. In May 2019, Aden became the first model to wear the hijab and burkini in ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit''. This was not the first time in her career that she broke boundaries, further diversifying the industry to be more inclusive of Muslims. Aden stated on her Instagram that her appearance in ''Sports Illustrated'' sends a message to both her community and the world that "women of all different backgrounds, looks, upbringings...can stand together and be celebrated." Halima became the first black woman with hijab to be featured on the cover of Essence magazine, in 2020’s January/ February issue. In April 2019, Aden collaborated with modest clothing brand Modanisa to design her own turban and shawl collection called Halima x Modanisa. In an interview with

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, Aden stated that her collection is for everyone, whether they wear the hijab or not. She released the collection at the Istanbul Modest Fashion Week on April 20, 2019. In November 2020, Aden announced in a series of

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

stories that she had quit runway modelling as it compromised her religious beliefs, though since then she has indicated that she would do modelling work as long as she could set the conditions. Aden received support for her decision from

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to t ...

Gigi Hadid Jelena Noura "Gigi" Hadid ( ; born April 23, 1995) is an American model and television personality. In November 2014, she made her debut in the Top 50 Models ranking at Models.com. In 2016, she was named International Model of the Year by the ...

, and Bella Hadid. Aden later announced that she had planned to become the first Somali woman to compete at

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Str ...

. In December 2021 she was named as one of the BBC's 100 Women.

Personal choices in modeling

Aden’s modelling contract includes her hijab, as she has made it a non-negotiable part of her work. Aden has spoken out about difficulties she faces in booking modeling jobs that are not accommodating to the fact that she wears the hijab. She described positive experiences as with Maxmara, where looks were specifically designed for her considering her clothing choices. Aden reaffirms that she does not need to conform to society’s standards in order to be a successful model.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aden, Halima Living people Female models from Minnesota People from St. Cloud, Minnesota St. Cloud State University alumni Somalian emigrants to the United States IMG Models models Muslim models African-American Muslims 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people) BBC 100 Women Refugees in Kenya