Rap superstar turned designer Kanye West broke all stereotypes by putting a hijab-wearing Somali-American model on the New York ramp, unveiling his new and more adult Yeezy Season 5 collection.
19-years-old Halima Aden made her modeling debut on day seven of New York fashion week at one of the hottest and most exclusive tickets in town — West’s experimental collaboration with Adidas.
She walked in front of West’s reality star wife Kim Kardashian and Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour soon after West was highly criticised by fans for meeting the newly elected President Donald Trump in December 2016.
Halima Aden was born in a Kenyan refugee camp and is now a US citizen; her appearance in the high-profile fashion show will definitely propel her into a much enhanced league than the headlines she initially made last year while she became the first woman to compete in a Miss Minnesota beauty pageant wearing a hijab.
According to Style bible Vogue, her appearance made her the show’s “most talked-about new face” and appreciated her with starting a “meaningful conversation”, by proudly presenting Muslim women at the fashion week.
Even though finding looks meeting her required modesty can be challenging, Aden told Vogue that her experiences had been quite positive, so far.
“My goal is to send a message to Muslim women and young women everywhere that it’s okay to break stereotypes and be yourself,” the magazine’s website quoted her as saying.
“I haven’t received any pressure to be anything other than myself,” she told Vogue, “and for that, I am so grateful.”
