H&M ad has model with hijab

PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/MARIAH IDRISSI

NEW YORK • A hijab-wearing model in a video advertisement for clothing retailer H&M has become a talking point on the Internet.

The story of Mariah Idrissi, a 23-year-old model, has prompted a discussion about women who are reclaiming the head scarf as a form of stylish self-expression.

Idrissi said in an interview with the website Fusion: "It always feels like women who wear hijab are ignored when it comes to fashion. Our style, in a way, hasn't really mattered, so it's amazing that a brand that is big has recognised the way we wear hijab."

Idrissi, who is based in London and said she was discovered by a modelling scout on Instagram, reflects a larger trend of young Muslim women who are gathering on social media to trade fashion tips, all with hijabs as the sartorial focal point.

After she was featured in the H&M campaign, other hijabi women said it offered a fashion-forward look at womanhood in their culture. "In a simple and quiet way, she made others look at a Muslim woman without fear or contempt but with a healthy curiosity," a lifestyle blogger at Muslim Girl wrote of Idrissi.

NEW YORK TIMES

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 01, 2015, with the headline H&M ad has model with hijab. Subscribe