Halima Aden Redefining the Idea of Fashion and Beauty on the Runway

About a year ago, Denise Wallace, executive co-director of the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, received a phone call from 19-year-old Halima Aden requesting if she could compete in the contest wearing her headscarf. 

According to Wallace,

“Her photo popped up and I remember distinctly going, ‘Wow, she is beautiful.’”

The Somali-American teenager went viral last year in November when she competed in the 2016 Miss Minnesota USA pageant wearing a hijab. The Internet buzz she received caught the attention of Rihanna’s camp; a member reached out to Aden via Instagram shortly thereafter.

Nike Inc also announced that it will be launching a breathable mesh hijab, becoming the first major sports apparel maker to offer a traditional Islamic head scarf designed for competition.

Following this, American Eagle Outfitters Inc created a denim hijab with Aden as its main model.

Allure magazine’s editor-in-chief, Michelle Lee, describes Aden as a ‘normal American teenage girl’ on the front cover of the magazine’s July issue.

“She is someone who is so amazingly representative of who we are as America, as a melting pot it totally made sense for us,” Lee said.

According to Aden she is happy being the face of diversity in the modeling industry but in the future she hopes to return to Kakuma to work with refugee children.