H&M has hired their first ever Muslim hijab-wearing model for their newest ad campaign.
Mariah Idrissi received a call from a scouting company earlier this year, asking her to appear in H&M’s new “Close the Loop” campaign. Although incredibly excited, Idrissi admitted that she was a bit skeptical at first.
“Are you sure they know I wear a hijab ?” she asked, according to Fusion.
The 23-year-old, who is of Pakistani and Moroccan heritage and is based in London, agreed to appear in the ads for the Swedish company, the second largest global retailer after Zara. Mariah appears in H&M’s short film, Close the Loop, adding to the diversity of the ad, which also features an amputee model, plus-sized models, a Gulf Sheikh, and a group of Sikh men.
Mariah Idrissi told Buzzfeed that being part of such a large campaign “means a lot,” and it is “amazing to show” a Muslim woman wearing a hijab. She said she hopes that her appearing in the campaign will bring more “covered women in the mainstream fashion world.”
“H&M is such a huge retailer, and to finally have someone Muslim in hijab representing the brand is amazing to show,” she said. “I think it’s important to use women in hijab because Islam is the second largest religion in the world.”
H&M launch new campaign featuring first ever model wearing a hijab, looks SO chic http://t.co/kCMpAP7SLk pic.twitter.com/lkUFNLg0i7
— Sugarscape (@sugarscape) September 29, 2015
Mariah also spoke about how comfortable everyone made her feel during the shoot. She said they were very respectful of her and her religion, and even provided her with her own dressing area with a female assistant to help her out while the shoot was taking place.
“[H&M] asked how much in terms of neck I could show, but to be honest they were very respectful,” she said.
“If the cameramen noticed something not quite right, they would call a woman over to fix me. One of the watches was dangling in the wrong way, and rather than just twisting it on my wrist, the cameraman asked a woman to come over. It just showed that little bit of respect.”
Mariah runs a beauty shot that specializes in henna tattoos and halal nail polish manicures, and says she is anything but shy and conservative. She is constantly showing off her style and nail art with her nearly 9,000 followers on Instagram , which is one of the ways she was discovered by H&M.
. @hm ‘s first Muslim campaign star has spoken out about the shoot.. http://t.co/UqjzfMA8eO pic.twitter.com/RxIR5k736o — LOOK magazine (@Lookmagazine) September 29, 2015
Mariah comes from a conservative Islamic family. However, she did not start wearing her hijab until she was 17-years-old (most young girls start wearing them when they enter puberty). This doesn’t mean she doesn’t remain strong in her Islamic faith.
“Being a Muslim or not, I’ve always had interests naturally in history or religious studies,” she said. “I spent 10 years in Islamic school, that is a big factor, plus doing the Nasheeds as a teenager made me closer to my faith. I’ve always had elements of Islam in my life.”
. @MariahIdrissi talks to @susannahbutter about being the first woman to model for @hm in a #hijab http://t.co/mkCDBUv3DU
— Standard features (@ESfeatures) September 29, 2015
H&M recently launched their new environmentally friendly denim collection, called “Close the Loop.” The denim jeans range in price from $40 to $60, and are made entirely from recycled cotton collected from their in-store clothing collection initiative, according to Pop Sugar.
“They’ve essentially closed the loop on textiles (hence the name) by reusing old clothes and eliminating the need for new or virgin resources in producing a brand-new lineup of clothing,” the website reads.
Think Muslims aren’t “mainstream”? H&M just hired it’s first-ever Hijabi model. Oh, and she’s amazing @MariahIdrissi pic.twitter.com/gRaskEuiW7
— Muhammad Lila (@MuhammadLila) September 29, 2015
What do you think about Mariah Idrissi being the worst Muslim model wearing a hijab to appear in an H&M ad campaign? Leave your comments below.
[Photo via Instagram]
