Halima Aden is celebrating her return to the fashion world by collaborating with modest fashion e-commerce giant Modanisa
Halima Aden shocked the fashion industry when she announced she was quitting modelling ten months ago and has shocked us once more by announcing her return. While she won’t be modelling, the 24-year-old former supermodel has been announced as the global ambassador for Modanisa: the world’s largest e-commerce platform dedicated to modest fashion.
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Halima will be Modanisa’s first-ever ambassador and has signed a contract for two years, over which time she will design two collections and have a say in creative processes. The collaboration comes as a full-circle moment, as the two worked together at the beginning of Halima’s career when she wore a burkini designed by the platform at her Miss Minnesota USA Pageant in 2016. The pageant saw her rise to fame as the first contestant to wear a hijab, resulting in her being signed to IMG Models and gracing the cover of world-renowned magazines. She was also featured in Sports Illustrated wearing her hijab and burkini.
“I’m so excited to be working with Modanisa,” Halima shared. “They have been an ever-present in my career: my first modest fashion catwalk, my first collection, and now my first global fashion role, all with Modanisa. They share my faith and values, and fully respect my choices as a Muslim woman. I’m coming home.”
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The Istanbul-based platform co-created Modest Fashion Week, which debuted in Istanbul in 2016 and came to Dubai in 2017. Modanisa’s Vice President of Marketing and Brand, Samim Surel spoke on the no-brainer decision, saying, “She is an icon of our times, who embodies perfectly the values of our brand: smart, stylish, and passionate, wanting to live her best life without abandoning her religious beliefs… Like our customers, Halima is proud of her Muslim heritage and seeks a harmonic blend between Islamic traditions and modernity.”
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The Somali-American model took a step back from the industry in November 2020 as she felt she had compromised her beliefs, lost her identity and was not being respected by the industry as a hijab-wearing model. “My career was seemingly on top, but I was mentally not happy,” she said upon reflection.
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- Words by Savanna Smith
