The First Model With Burkini And Hijab In Sports Illustrated

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Beyond cuts, colors and styles, in 2019 inclusivity is the trend that is having the most impact in the fashion sector. From including models of all sizes and races in the advertising campaigns of the main firms to increasing the offer of shades in makeup bases to cover all skin colors, people demand this change and brands respond.

Joining this new wave of change, Sports Illustrated magazine has made history with its latest bathroom issue including, for the first time, in addition to its usual poses with micro and mini bikinis, a model wearing a burkini and hijab, the used scarf by Muslim women to cover their heads.

This is the model and activist Halima Alden, who was born and raised until she was 7 years old in a refugee camp in Kenya, where these images were taken.

This is not the first time that this 21-year-old has broken barriers: the model rose to fame after becoming the first woman to appear in a beauty pageant, Miss Minnesota, wearing a hijab on the catwalk. And made it to the semifinal!

Shortly after the contest, she landed a contract with the prestigious modeling agency IMG, and her runway debut modeled Kanye West's line, Yeezy, at New York Fashion Week.

Today she has made hijab her hallmark and a sign of protest also to demand more representation for Muslim women in the fashion world.

"I hope that this report will open doors for my Somali community, the refugee community and other communities that may feel identified with being different," said the model. "Young Muslim women need to know that there are bathing options for them, so that they can join the swim team, go to swimming lessons, or go to the beach with friends."