H&M to Have First Ad Campaign Featuring Hijab-Wearing Model

Fast-fashion retailer H&M may have more than 3,300 stores in 50-plus countries, but that doesn’t mean it has necessarily represented all ethnicities and religious persuasions in past advertisements, which have starred Beyonce, Gisele Bundchen, Adriana Lima and Anna Ewers, among others.

Through their Close the Loop recycling initiative, H&M aims to reduce waste and use textiles from old clothes to create new yarns used in their products, by encouraging consumers to give them unwanted clothes.

Muslim model Mariah Idrissi will be modeling the hijab.

Global fashion retailer H&M recently introduced its first ever Muslim model, dressed a hijab, in an advertising campaign for its Fall 2015 line, and model Maria Hidrissi has won praise from her female coreligionists.

“I honestly have no idea why”.

“To finally see a hijabi [a woman who wears a hijab] in mainstream fashion is a big achievement”, she told Fusion.

The model appears in both print and video ads for the Swedish fashion brand, including a short film about being environmentally conscious, titled “Close the Loop”.

“It always feels like women who wear hijab are ignored when it comes to fashion, so it’s wonderful that a brand has recognised this”, she told Fusion.

Ms Idrissi is a Londoner of Pakistani and Moroccan heritage who began wearing a hijab at 17.

The advert also features an elderly man in drag and a boxer with a prosthetic limb. Elle also noted that Mariah was joined by Iggy Pop and model Tess Holliday.