Somali-American becomes first model to wear hijab on Vogue cover

Somali-American teen, Halima Aden, has become the first model to wear a hijab on the cover of Vogue.

The 19-year-old model first established a foothold in the modelling industry by being the first hijab-wearing woman to participate in Minnesota’s “Miss USA” pageant, and made her modelling debut in February at one of Kanye West’s “Yeezy” presentations during New York Fashion Week.

Somali-American model Halima Aden walking the runway for Max Mara during the Women's Fall/Winter 2017/2018 fashion week in Milan, Italy. /VCG Photo‍

Vogue Arabia had previously announced that Aden would be the cover star of their June issue, “All Eyes on Halima.”

The cover, released this week, features Aden in full hijab, with a tagline referring to her as “the runway star shattering stereotypes.”

“Every little girl deserves to see a role model that’s dressed like her, resembles her or even has the same characteristics as her,” said Aden, during an interview after the shoot.

“I think beauty is for everyone and I think everyone can look beautiful, you just have to be confident.”

The model was photographed by Greg Kadel and styled by Paul Cavaco for the June issue. Vogue launched its Arabian edition at the end of last year, with Gigi Hadid landing the very first cover in March.

(CGTN)