Halima Aden is making headlines again, but on a much bigger stage. In November, the 19-year-old Somali American became the first fully covered Muslim to compete in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant (she wore a burkini during the swimsuit portion).
Somali-American who wore hijab at Minnesota pageant is now a hit at New York Fashion Week
Model Halima Aden went from St. Cloud to walking the runway for Kanye West, plus getting gushing write-ups from Cosmopolitan and Us Weekly.
February 17, 2017 at 5:39PM
On Wednesday, she hit New York Fashion Week like a comet, walking in Kanye West's "Yeezy Season 5" show. And again, she wore her own hijab. She also wore a huge faux-fur coat and black pumps.
Here's what she told Cosmopolitan about being in the show and meeting West and Kim Kardashian.
"I am so excited to be a part of all this," she told the magazine. "Kanye West was very welcoming, and I think I scared Kim because I just ran and hugged her!"
All this and she just signed to mega agency IMG Models a few days ago. That's the same agency that has Gisele on its roster. She's breaking down barriers there too, as the company's first hijab-wearing signee. Here's Us Magazine going completely gaga for her with the headline, "8 reasons why Yeezy's hijab-wearing model Halima Aden is all we can think about."
Aden now has 39,000 followers on Instagram where you can keep up on all her latest bookings.
Or check her out on her agency's 'gram:
It's been quite the journey for Aden. Her mother moved the family to Minnesota from a Kenyan refugee camp 12 years ago, when Aden was 7. Read more about her Minnesota ties here.
And finally, here's Aden talking with Vogue magazine this week about preserving her individuality:
"I haven't received any pressure to be anything other than myself," she says, "and for that, I am so grateful."
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