--- title: Halima Aden Working in the Fashion Industry description: Find out what Muslim model Halima Aden said about what it's like to work in the fashion industry. canonical: https://time.com/4690296/halima-aden-muslim-model-fashion-industry/ author: Samantha Cooney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-03T19:04:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:05:02.354Z og:title: Muslim Model Halima Aden Reveals What It’s Like to Work in the Fashion Industry og:description: ‘I have not had pressure to be anything but myself’ og:url: https://time.com/4690296/halima-aden-muslim-model-fashion-industry/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41f31c06dbedb0e3/6988bcf386f68e6b2e6e3b8b/halima-aden-runway.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Alberta Ferretti - Runway - Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2017/18 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Muslim Model Halima Aden Reveals What It’s Like to Work in the Fashion Industry twitter:description: ‘I have not had pressure to be anything but myself’ twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41f31c06dbedb0e3/6988bcf386f68e6b2e6e3b8b/halima-aden-runway.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Muslim Model Halima Aden Reveals What It’s Like to Work in the Fashion Industry  by [Samantha Cooney](https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Mar 3, 2017 7:04 PM UTC  MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 22: Model Halima Aden walks the runway at the Alberta Ferretti show during Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2017/18 on February 22, 2017 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Pietro D'aprano/Getty Images) MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 22: Model Halima Aden walks the runway at the Alberta Ferretti show during Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2017/18 on February 22, 2017 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Pietro D'aprano/Getty Images)Pietro D'aprano—Getty Images  by [Samantha Cooney](https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Mar 3, 2017 7:04 PM UTC Model [Halima Aden](http://motto.time.com/4674453/muslim-model-kanye-west-nyfw/), who is breaking fashion barriers by walking the runway for [top designers](http://motto.time.com/4680868/halima-aden-milan-fashion-week-shows/) in a hijab, says the industry has embraced her. “I have not had any pressure to be anything but myself,” she [told _Cosmopolitan_](http://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/a9079612/halima-aden-live-interview/) in a new interview. “They’ve been very accepting of my faith. I have strict wardrobe requirements and that’s something they’ve upheld.” The model, who made history last year [as the first woman](http://motto.time.com/4583400/halima-aden-miss-minnesota-usa-hijab-burkini/) to compete in a burkini at the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, said that she’s proud to represent Muslim women — especially given [the political climate.](http://time.com/4655229/president-trump-immigration-executive-order-muslims-terrorism-police/?iid=sr-link3) But she doesn’t let her faith define her. “When people put labels on us it doesn’t always enclose everything that we are,” she said. “So even though I’m proud to be Somali, I’m proud to be American, at the end of the day, I’m still Halima and I take things from both sides and combine them and I make my own little category. I’m me!” Read the [full interview at _Cosmopolitan_](http://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/a9079612/halima-aden-live-interview/)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4690296/halima-aden-muslim-model-fashion-industry/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4690296/halima-aden-muslim-model-fashion-industry/"},"headline":"Muslim Model Halima Aden Reveals What It’s Like to Work in the Fashion Industry","datePublished":"2017-03-03T19:04:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:05:02.354Z","description":"‘I have not had pressure to be anything but myself’","url":"https://time.com/4690296/halima-aden-muslim-model-fashion-industry/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41f31c06dbedb0e3/6988bcf386f68e6b2e6e3b8b/halima-aden-runway.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Cooney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41f31c06dbedb0e3/6988bcf386f68e6b2e6e3b8b/halima-aden-runway.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Alberta Ferretti - Runway - Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2017/18","caption":"Alberta Ferretti - Runway - Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2017/18","creditText":"Pietro D'aprano—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4690296/halima-aden-muslim-model-fashion-industry/","name":"Muslim Model Halima Aden Reveals What It’s Like to Work in the Fashion Industry"}}]}] ```