Model Halima Aden believes she wouldn’t have been embraced by the fashion industry 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.
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.”