https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Bi523jNbs
Halima Aden was born in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. She is Somali 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. She is a student at St. Cloud State University.
In 2016, Aden received national media attention after competing in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, 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 IMG Models. In February 2017, she made her debut at the New York Fashion Week for Yeezy Season 5. She later served as a preliminary and telecast judge of the Miss USA 2017 pageant.
She has since walked for numerous designers, including Maxmara and Alberta Ferretti. She has also participated in the 2016 Milan Fashion Week and London Modest Fashion Week. Aden posed for American Eagle and British Glamour 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 Vogue Arabia, Allure, and British Vogue.
In 2018, Aden became a UNICEF ambassador. Her work is focused on 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 Teen Vogue, 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 quit runway modeling as it compromised her religious beliefs.
IF IT DOESN'T OPEN, IT'S NOT YOUR DOOR.
![:#)]](./images/smilies/100.gif "On the phone")
