H&M features hijab-wearing model in new campaign

London - Muslim women are a core consumer group for both high street and luxury retailers, however they rarely are featured in editorials, campaigns or on the catwalk.

Swedish high street giant H&M is challenging our notion of seeing Muslim women as fashionable entities with its new campaign, Close the Loop, which promotes sustainable fashion and features a hijab-wearing model called Mariah Idrissi.

“It always feels like women who wear hijab are ignored when it comes to fashion,” the 23-year-old Londoner told Fusion. “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. It might be because hijab fashion has boomed in the last few years and to finally see a hijabi in mainstream fashion is a big achievement.”

The campaign, which takes the form of a video, was made to promote H&M’s new initiative which allows people to recycle clothes at their stores. In fact, the positive ethos of this campaign was a major factor in Idrissi’s decision to accept the job. “I thought it’s for a good cause,” she says.

The latest figures show that over 12 percent of London’s population identify as Muslim.