MILAN: Somali-American model Halima Aden has announced that she is taking a step back from the fashion industry, saying the pandemic slowdown has allowed her to see instances when her desire to maintain a hijab was not properly respected.
In a detailed Instagram story, Aden wrote this week that she was “not rushing back to the fashion industry” and that she had finally heard her mother’s pleas “to open my eyes.”
“My mom asked me to quit modeling a LONG time ago. I wish I wasn’t so defensive,’’ the 23-year-old model wrote. “Thanks to COVID and the breakaway from the industry I have finally realized where I went wrong on my hijab journey.’’
Aden became the first hijab-wearing model on the runways of Milan and New York, and has appeared on numerous magazine covers and in print campaigns.
Born in a refugee camp in Kenya, she moved to the United States with her family at age 7 and was the first Muslim homecoming queen at her high school in Minnesota, the first Somali student senator at her college and the first hijab-wearing woman in the Miss USA Minnesota pageant.
In her Instagram posts, Aden detailed where she felt the religious covering hijab had been respected — for example in a campaign for Rihanna’s Fenty beauty line — and where it had gone astray, showing an instance when her head had been wrapped in jeans.
“I was just so desperate back then for any ‘representation,’ that I lost touch with who I was,’’ she wrote on one post, and on another, wearing a crystal-encrusted headscarf, she said “”I should have walked off the set because clearly the stylist didn’t have a hijab wearing woman in mind.”
She said her acceptance of situations that showed a lack of respect for her beliefs was due to a mixture of rebellion and naivete. “What I blame the industry for is the lack of MUSLIM stylists,” she wrote.
Somali-US model Halima Aden takes step back from industry
https://arab.news/wfc9x
Somali-US model Halima Aden takes step back from industry
- In a detailed Instagram story, Aden wrote this week that she was “not rushing back to the fashion industry”
- “Thanks to COVID and the breakaway from the industry I have finally realized where I went wrong on my hijab journey,” she said
Gigi Hadid introduces sun-washed knitwear in new Guest in Residence drop
DUBAI: US Dutch Palestinian model Gigi Hadid this week released the first drop of her brand Guest in Residence’s spring/summer collection.
The pictures she shared with her 79.5 million followers on Instagram showed that the new offerings lean into relaxed, sun-washed dressing, blending the brand’s signature knitwear with a more playful, resort-ready mood.
The collection features lightweight cardigans, cropped knits and long-sleeve tops paired with knit shorts, relaxed trousers and soft lounge pieces designed for warm weather.
A palette of coastal blues, butter yellow, soft red, cream and pastel tones runs throughout, complemented by subtle stripes and textured finishes.
Across the images, knits are layered over swimwear or styled as coordinated sets, aligning with the collection’s casual, seasonal direction.
Hadid wrote on Instagram that the newly launched products are now available in stores and retailers worldwide.
The model and entrepreneur’s latest drop was a collaboration with Moon Boot, the Italian snow boot brand. Released in November, Hadid and the brand dropped 16 designs for winter.
A week before that, she launched her winter collection that expanded Guest in Residence’s knitwear offering with cold-weather staples designed for layering.
The range included chunky scarves with fringe finishes, ribbed beanies, knitted socks, striped sweaters, zip-neck tops and relaxed knit polos, alongside straight-leg trousers and casual separates.
A muted winter palette of red, cream, brown, forest green and blue ran throughout, with stripes and textured knits adding visual contrast.
Hadid launched her clothing label, which features soft, colorful knitwear, in September 2022.
“Over the last handful of years, I didn’t want to be backed into starting my own line just because there was an offer on the table or a deal to be made,” she wrote to her followers on Instagram at the time.
“The earliest days of Guest in Residence came about when I started to question the cashmere market, and those answers gave me a path,” she added.
“I believe that because of its sustainable qualities — natural and made to cherish and to pass down — cashmere is a luxury that should be more accessible.”
Celebrities including Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Swift and Bradley Cooper have been spotted wearing the label’s designs.
