Elisa Huber

Halima Aden is breaking barriers in the fashion industry at a time when xenophobia is at a peak. A proud Somali-American model turned UNICEF ambassador, she made history as the first Miss Minnesota pageant contestant to don a hijab and a burkini on stage. A year later, she signed with international modeling agency, IMG Models, becoming their first ever hijabi model. She has since walked in runway shows for Yeezy, MaxMara, and Alberta Ferretti; graced the covers of Vogue UK, Paper and Allure; and racked up a six-digit Instagram following.

We caught up with the 21-year-old supermodel after H&M’s Conscious collection event in Los Angeles, where she showed her support for the brand’s focus on sustainable fashion. “I look at the brand’s values and if it aligns with mine,” she told Refinery29 when asked why she supports H&M Conscious. “The work that [H&M is] doing with their Conscious Exclusive collection is everything that I want to work for as far as protecting our environment and brands being more conscious.”

She chose to wear a v-neck maxi dress from the collection for the event, noting that she styled it modestly. “It still works for me because I paired it with a turtleneck. It looked like those two pieces belonged together.” She also fell in love with the dress’s matching scarf. “I tried a scarf that was part of the collection as an accessory, but I wore it as a hijab, and it really complimented the dress.”

Source: rufinery29