H&M Debuts First Model Wearing A Hijab And She's Totally Slaying It (Photos)

Earlier this month, H&M took a long-awaited step in ready-to-wear fashion. The company featured a diverse range of models, including hijab-clad Mariah Idrissi, in its Close the Loop campaign,

While the clothier was not the first major fashion house to create products targeting Muslim consumers, a video, which the company released earlier this month to convince customers to recycle clothing, introduced Idrissi alongside models who were amputees, Sikh, plus-size, elderly, Gulf Sheikhs or Iggy Pop.

The model regularly posts glam selfies to Instagram, yet she was pleasantly surprised when H&M reached out.

In an interview with Fusion, the 23-year-old shared,

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 recognized the way we wear hijab.

The Londoner began wearing a hijab at 17, and through H&M's campaign and her own posts, she showcases the glamour of Muslim style.

According to Business Insider, Thomson Reuters reported the projected total spent by Muslim consumers on clothing within the next four years will be roughly $484 billion, which is unsurprising considering Islam is the second largest religion worldwide. Yet, models like Idrissi are hardly prevalent in the industry.

Regardless, the conditions of the Close the Loop shoot were accommodating to Idrissi's faith, suggesting the fashion world is more than prepared to expand its parameters and cater to a broader scope of customers.

Idrissi recounted,

[H&M] asked how much in terms of neck I could show, but to be honest they were very respectful. If the cameramen noticed something not quite right, they would call a woman over to fix me, it was sweet. 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.

The campaign garnered Idrissi plenty of attention in London media.

The coverage will hopefully lead to future work in the fashion industry for Idrissi and fellow hijab-donning style stars.

Citations: H&M features its first Muslim model wearing a hijab and she looks completely awesome (Metro), Meet the first hijab-wearing model in an H&M ad (Fusion), The Islamic fashion business is booming (Business Insider)