WHERE TO NEXT
TWO GAME-CHANGING WOMEN FROM DIFFERENT GENERATIONS, CONTINENTS AND BACKGROUNDS SHARE WHAT THE FUTURE OF FASHION LOOKS LIKE TO THEM
Two women divulge where they hope we’re heading.
Despite a seemingly relentless number of setbacks, in 2019 the future for women has never looked so bright. To celebrate this, we turned to two pioneering voices pushing forward the conversation about activism and fashion. Somali-american model Halima Aden is breaking boundaries on a near-weekly basis at the tender age of 21, and 78-year-old Robin Morgan, the prolific writer and activist (a contemporary of Gloria Steinem’s), is having an unexpected fashion renaissance courtesy of Christian Dior. Here, they share their stories.
“THE PAST SIX MONTHS have been crazy. I’ve been on a plane every other day, and in the past six weeks, I’ve been home for a total of 24 hours. UOMA cosmetics, my first makeup contract, launched and then my first fashion collaboration with Modanisa dropped. I went from being the first hijabi model to creating a line of turbans and hijabs, which was exciting. Then my Sport’s Illustrated shoot landed.
The Sport’s Illustrated story was huge for me. It had a great response but, as with anything, there was still the fear of the unknown. The burkini was what launched my career two and a half years ago when I competed for Miss Minnesota USA, so to be the first model to shoot for SI in a burkini was a full-circle moment. What I loved about being in that issue was the calibre of women involved. Women who are mothers and supermodels, women who went from models to moguls — it gives me chills because I’m somebody who loves women; I’m a fangirl!
When I found out about modelling, I watched America’s Next Top Model. Then I met Tyra Banks and I told her, ‘Girl, I’m still waiting for my snake scene.’
Before I signed with IMG, we had a four-hour long conversation, which was all about me and my agents coming to a clear understanding about what I was comfortable with. We put together a list that they now send to the team before every single shoot. It’s things like: This is where the hemline needs to hit, and the clothes can’t be too tight. We also include examples of what I could wear, so by the time you show up on set the team have had time to really work around it. Because we set that up early, I’ve never been put in any [difficult] situations. In fact, it’s the opposite — they’re like, ‘Is this okay? Can you show feet?’ It shows the level of respect.
[French fashion editor] Carine Roitfeld has played a pivotal role in my career. She shot me for CR Fashion Book, which
was my first ever photoshoot. She taught me that I don’t have to compromise myself to fit into this industry. Before then, clothes for me were as simple as, ‘I just need to cover my body and leave the house.’ Carine made me feel beautiful and confident. I felt like I was a supermodel when she styled me.
In high school, it was really hard to find [modest] clothes. Even for graduation, I looked for six months to find something with long sleeves that covered my back. I ended up with one of the most basic white dresses, but it was still sleeveless because I couldn’t find anything that would cover my neck. I just paired it with a hijab.
The problem was trying to look youthful and stylish, and I didn’t learn how to do that until I started in this industry and saw how designers and stylists would work with a turtleneck. All of a sudden, a dress I thought was off-limits — BOOM, I’m wearing it. This is why young girls follow me — they’re looking at my page and they’re like, ‘Oh, I can do that!’ I recently did a shoot with Carine where we recreated [Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer’s] Girl With A Pearl Earring painting, and girls were sending photos to me on Halloween saying, ‘This is what I went as.’ That gives me chills.
One of my career highlights was being named a UNICEF Ambassador. I was a UNICEF baby, so I know what it’s like to be a child refugee. I lived in a refugee camp for seven years — it’s something you never forget — so to come back now and use this platform to speak about their work has been incredible. I talk to the children at camps in Mexico, Chad and other places and ask, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ Some say, ‘I want to be a pilot, or a doctor or a lawyer,’ but some also say, ‘I want to be a designer, I want to be a model.’ So now I am thinking about how I can use my fashion connections to make their dreams a reality.”