Pioneering Hijab-Wearing Model Mariah Idrissi Optimistic About Modest Fashion’s Future

Despite the surge in modest fashion over the past decade, lobbies are working to remove the hijab. This is evidenced by the pressure exerted on certain models or influencers. "The best thing to do is to focus on your own goal and the steps to achieve it, so that hatred or pressure does not have a significant impact on you," Mariah Idrissi advised in an interview with The New Arab. She expresses her optimism about the growth of the modest fashion industry. "I think the modest fashion industry will continue to grow, because the demand is not going anywhere," she said.

Her wish, she said, is that there will be more lasting interest in modest fashion and discussions around the essence of modesty as a whole. More than ever, Mariah is making the empowerment of women and the defense of the hijab her battle horses. "As a creator, you end up finding so much inspiration and so many potential goals, short and long-term, that emerge. My long-term goal is to tell stories through films and my voice that focus on identity and spirituality while being an unconditional hijab-wearing woman," she explains.

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In 2015, the Moroccan-British model became the first hijab-wearing model to participate in an advertising campaign for the Swedish brand H&M. "I had just graduated with a degree in English literature and history and was working in a children’s store when I was spotted by Road Casting," she recalls. And she adds: "The first job I did as a model was for H&M and that campaign propelled me into the fashion industry. I’ve always loved fashion as a way to style and express myself, but I had never considered making a career in this field."