Model Halima Aden. Picture: Yu Tsai / Sports Illustrated
Twenty-two-year-old Halima Aden made history with the Swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated.
The Somali-American model was the first woman to wear a hijab and a burkini, a full-body swimsuit, in Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit edition.
Born in Kakuma, a refugee camp in Kenya, Aden has also made waves in the fashion industry prior to this release.
She got her start as the first woman to compete in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant while wearing a hijab and soon signed to IMG Models.
She then went on to appear in Kanye West’s Season 5 show for Yeezy and became the first hijab-wearing model on the cover of Vogue Arabia, Allure, and British Vogue.
Following the swimsuit issue, Aden became an overnight celebrity, walking in international runways for designers like Max Mara, Alberta Ferretti and Sherri Hill.
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