As A Model It’s So Important To Me That I’m Signed To The World’s First Modest Agency

'I was told "you don't have the look, you don't have the attitude, I just can't see anyone wanting to look like a Muslim woman"'

modest model umma amina

by Amina Begum Ali |
Updated on

‘I’m not just a model who is a Muslim woman, I’m also a model who is brown, a model who is petite, a model who is completely niche. Just because I’m modest, it doesn’t mean I’m not human or not a good model.

Most agencies now have one hijabi model but it can feel like they are just a token, unfortunately. This is why Umma [the world’s first modest model agency] is so good. They represent all modest women, not just Asian or Moroccan or Pakistani.

Umma has helped me in so many ways. When I first started, if there had been an agency like this it would have made my job a lot easier. Now I don’t have to worry anymore that I can’t be myself in case they think I’m being difficult. It means I don't have to have an awkward conversation with clients. Umma put things in place without me even knowing. I go on set and they have sorted me out with my own fitting room and accounted for my dietary needs. If there is meat on set they’ve made sure it’s halal or there’s a vegetarian option and that any sweets don’t contain gelatine. They put those things in place in advance with a detailed email. They say what I’m not going to show so I never turn up on set and be expected to be naked or something. When I get booked through a more mainstream agency I have to remind them that I’m not going to show much skin and what I can’t eat.

I was New Look’s first hijabi model and I remember prior to going on set, my manager made sure they knew I was Muslim. He let them know that that this is what I will do and can’t do. There was a fitting room on set for me. The team at New Look were so great as we had a conversation straight away about my wardrobe and how tight the trousers were, how much neck I was happy to show and how much wrist I wanted to show. The first image they took, I had a scarf on and the scarf was draped over my shoulder specifically because the photographer was like, ‘Amina said she wasn’t happy with the shape of the dress.’ They took that into consideration, which I was so grateful for.

I’m not here trying to be an influencer, if that was the case then I would be on Instagram fighting for likes and acknowledgement. I want to work bigger than that. I always knew I wanted to do to be a model, it was my dream job.

I think it was not seeing people like me in the media that made me want to be a model. When I was little I used to wonder why even in the cartoons I used to watch, there was nobody there I can relate to. I wasn’t angry, but had someone told me where I would be right now I would have literally laughed. It was just so far-fetched that I thought it’s never going to happen, you know. I wasn’t mad I didn’t have representation but I was sad.

I am a very driven person. When it comes to getting it done, I’m always going to find a way. I didn’t go to an agency at first, I did try one magazine because I didn’t know what to do or if an agency would accept me at the time. I went to a magazine with some images and to see if they saw potential in me. They were basically like, ‘This is never going to happen for you. You don’t have the look, you don’t have the attitude, I just can’t see anybody wanting to look like a Muslim woman.’ In the media that’s all they want, they want people to relate to my image. This was way before Mariah Idrissi had even come about, it was way before that H&M campaign or Halima Aden.

Umma helped me meet a lot of brands. They gave me a lot of opportunities, putting me on guest lists so I could network, introducing me to designers and stuff like that. I did London fashion week with them, I worked with Madessa, a very big brand especially in the Muslim market Muslim market, I did a feature for Buzzfeed and shot for a magazine in New York.

Modelling for fashion week [where there is very little space to change backstage] doesn’t make me nervous because I’ll just have to work around it. If a changing room cannot be made it’s cool I’ll get changed in the bathroom then. That is the sad part of the industry, there are going to be situations where everything is out of your control, but if you want to fight for what you believe in, then you always take those opportunities and run with them.'

The interview has been edited and condensed by Grazia.

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