Halima Aden isn’t a typical pageant girl. In November, the 19-year-old Somali-American made headlines when she competed in the Miss Minnesota USA competition clad in a hijab and burkini (a modest swimsuit worn by many Muslim women).
Although Aden didn’t win — she finished in the top 15 — her modeling career was off and running. She’s already one of the buzziest new faces to watch, with a couple of major jobs underway.
The budding runway star will walk in Kanye West’s “Yeezy Season 5” fashion show Wednesday at Pier 59, and she just wrapped a shoot with famed fashion photographer Mario Sorrenti for CR Book’s March issue.
Top talent agency IMG announced Wednesday that they have signed a contract with the newcomer, making her one of their first Muslim models to proudly bear her religious garb for fashion gigs instead of shedding it.
“I found that she was just so brave to stick to what she really believed in and yet go after the American dream of being in a beauty contest,” Ivan Bart, president of IMG Models, told Business of Fashion.
A post shared by Halima Aden (@kinglimaa) on Feb 14, 2017 at 10:31pm PST
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