Halima Aden doesn’t think the fashion industry would have embraced her five years ago.

The 22-year-old Somali-born model made history when she signed to IMG Models in 2017 and insisted in her contract that she is allowed to wear a hijab on the catwalk, something she made a non-negotiable part of her deal.

Halima never thought she would land her big break due to the lack of diversity in the industry.

Halima Aden feared that the fashion industry would not accept her. Picture: Instagram


She told Harper’s Bazaar: “I was living in Minnesota and was going to college. But I followed my heart, and when that call came from IMG Models, I went with my gut feeling and came on board.

“Before then, if you had asked me in 2015 or 2016 if I could have been a model, I would have told you no, that’s impossible.”

Halima doubted her looks and talent as she couldn’t spot another Somalian model on the runway.

She explained: “When you don’t see something, it’s hard to visualise it. A career like that, for someone like me, didn’t exist.”

Halima Aden feared that the fashion industry would not accept her. Picture: Instagram


Now, she has been fully embraced into the fashion world after the industry decided to revamp their famous faces.

She added: “It was really positive. A lot of people, especially in fashion, were ready for a new change, a new face. I never saw that kind of representation, a hijab-wearing model, before I came along. And to see all the changes in the short three years that I have been in the industry, like seeing a hijab-wearing model, has been amazing.

Halima Aden feared that the fashion industry would not accept her. Picture: Instagram


“This year, especially, I feel like every agency has a hijab-wearing model. We’re seeing so much representation, and it’s growing. It has surpassed me. It’s been quite the journey these last three years, but I couldn’t have done it if I didn’t have people like Carine [Roitfeld] believing in me and my agent. I think the industry had changed in order for me to come along and find success.”

-Bang Showbiz