In the April Power issue of Vogue Arabia, Somali-American model Halima Aden opened up about her childhood in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya and her move to St. Cloud in the US aged six. “The camp was a very unique setting,” she says. “Not being able to speak the same language, not having common ground… and then I saw how everyone worked together to learn Swahili. The become our common ground. After that, life was easier.”
Aged 19 – and now our June cover star – Aden has shattered stereotypes as the first hijab-wearing model to take to the international runways. She has walked for Yeezy Season 5 and Max Mara Fall 2017, and Alberta Ferretti Fall 2017. “When I’m walking the runway I want people to see that yes, I’m wearing a hijab – but I’m also a million other things. I want us to get to a place where we just see women,” Aden told Vogue Arabia.
In barely one rotation of the fashion season, the world has witnessed the rise of the model breaking new ground in the diversity stakes.
Yesterday, Aden (Instagram handle @kinglimaa) took over the Vogue Arabia Instagram account with her Ramadan diary. She shared videos of her flicking through the June issue, musing “Is this real life? Pinch me!” when opening the page entitled “All Eyes on Halima.” This marked the first time an A-lister has taken the steering wheel on the Vogue profile.
Read an extract from The Halima Affect article in the April issue here
