H&M has hired its first hijab-wearing model in their new campaign ‘Close the Loop.’ It encourages sustainable fashion, with the tagline: “There are no rules in fashion, except one: Recycle your clothes.”
At the centre of the new campaign is simply, freedom. As the advert says, “Wear brown shoes after 6, wear a hat indoors, wear a short skirt after 40, wear a short skirt if you’re a man.”
Mariah Idrissi, aged 23, is half Moroccon, half Pakistani. She wears a hijab and appears in the advert amongst men wearing turbans, a man with a prosthetic leg, a woman with armpit hair and many more models who challenge the fashion industry’s expectations of what a ‘normal’ model looks like.
The modelling world is notorious for its lack of representation of different body types and ethnicities. When the absence of diversity in the industry is challenged, we are given pathetic excuses such as, “hairdressers are not trained to deal with afro-hair,” and “the models have to be thin to fit the sample sizes.” André Leon Talley, Vogue’s former editor-at-large, was more honest, saying in 2005 of Anna Wintour: “Miss Anna doesn’t like fat people.” All of us are aware that this discrimination lurks in the media and the modelling world – why do most brands refuse to acknowledge it? And why do we, as consumers, accept that there is nothing we can do about it? The issue is often swept under the rug, with the industry regarded as an untouchable and elite institution incapable of change.
MindBodyPlate’s Sarah Kit Farrell says: “When we fight for body diversity in magazines like Vogue, we’re actually wrestling with the deeply embedded (and deeply problematic) tradition of equating wealth and exclusivity with thinness.” It is assumed that being thin is desirable and that this is what we want to see on the glossy pages of magazines. I find it frustrating that the industry is so out of touch with our generation.
There is some evidence of a shift in attitudes within the industry, with the rise in popularity of the ‘nodel’ or ‘non-model.’ Examples include plus-size model Tess Holliday, Winnie Harlow, an American model with the skin condition Vitiligo, and Instagram sensation thefatjewish, who made headlines with his ‘dadbod’ catwalk show at New York Fashion Week.
However these ‘nodels’ are just novelties. They make headlines and are applauded by campaigners. But the phrase ‘non-model’ itself separates these people from the ‘regular’ models. They will never be ‘proper’ models, and they are marginalised in the industry, despite representing the majority in the real world. It’s been months since Her Campus reported that a plus-size model had been featured in Sports Illustrated magazine for the first time; not much has changed since then.
I sincerely hope that Idrissi does not become a forgotten ‘nodel,’ pushed to the back of the line with the other ‘unconventional’ models, who have had 5 minutes of social media fame and were then rapidly obliterated from the public radar.
Islam is the second biggest religion worldwide – it should be represented in fashion. Some see the hijab as a symbol of female oppression, yet H&M have presented it as an emblem of freedom. Women should be free to wear a hijab if they wish, as well as to not wear one if they do not. We need women from different religions and ethnicities at the forefront of the media. Why do we allow British fashion culture to be dominated by those who only represent one segment of our society?
The fantastic Jess Cartner-Morely recently wrote that, “Catwalks do not set the ideals or define the debates that create the dysmorphias. They reflect them. The unspoken philosophy behind the old-school army of wan, pale, teenage models was that people are – or should be, or should try to be – all the same. Which is nonsense.” To be honest, I’m bored. I’m bored of every model that hobbles down the catwalk looking identical to the previous, dead behind the eyes. I want to be inspired and excited when I see an innovative catwalk show, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to find designers appealing when they refuse to adapt to our generation’s needs when it comes to fashion.
Fashion needs to be a community in which individuality is not only accepted, but encouraged. This is why blogging has become such a popular phenomenon; it provides a platform for young men and women of all shapes, sizes and ethnic backgrounds to express themselves and showcase their personal style. If the modelling world doesn’t keep up with the increasing demand for diversity, they will soon find themselves secondary to the thousands of people with their own blogs. Brands are already beginning to catch onto this, and many frequently send clothes to bloggers or pay them to promote their merchandise.
Idrissi has said, “Even though fashion with hijab has been going on for years, we are only really seeing it now through Instagram and Twitter and Facebook everything over the last few years. I think retailers are adapting more.”
H&M have now established themselves as the most forward thinking and modern brand on both the high street and designer markets. Who will be the next to follow?
Watch the full ad campaign: