爲信仰走秀的穆斯林模特

When Halima Aden was six, a western woman visited Kakuma, the United Nations refugee camp in Kenya in which she had been born. To this day, Aden — who was living in the camp with her Somali mother and baby brother — does not know who she was. A UN representative perhaps? Or a celebrity?

哈利馬?亞丁(Halima Aden) 6歲時，一位西方女士探訪了聯合國(UN)位於肯尼亞的卡庫馬(Kakuma)難民營。亞丁就出生在這裏，與她的索馬里母親和尚在襁褓中的弟弟一起生活。時至今日，亞丁對這位女士的身份仍一無所知。或許是一名聯合國代表？或許是某位名人？

“All I know is that, just by being there, she made my people light up,” explains Aden when we meet in a café in east London: she is in town to take part in the Modest Fashion Festival, an event aimed at empowering Muslim women. “She was asking them questions, finding out what they needed, making them feel like they hadn’t been forgotten. Seeing the effect that she had changed something in me; it made me want to make some sort of a difference with my life. To have that sort of effect.”

“我只知道，她的出現照亮了我們的世界。”亞丁向我解釋道。亞丁和我約在倫敦東部一家咖啡館會面。她是來倫敦參加穆斯林時裝節(Modest Fashion Festival)的——一項旨在增強穆斯林女性信心的活動。“那位女士不停問人們問題，想知道他們需要什麼，讓他們感覺自己並沒有被遺忘。看看她對我的影響：讓我想爲自己的人生帶來某種改變。就是這種影響。”

Today, the 20-year-old model — a naturalised American since the family made the move to Minnesota when she was seven years old — is making history. In November 2016, as a freshman at St Cloud State University, she entered in the Miss Minnesota USA beauty pageant, for which she wore a hijab and then a burkini, attracting the attention of the world’s press in the process. Although she placed in the top 15 of 45 contestants, she lost — but she went on to become the first hijab-wearing model to be signed to the model agency IMG.

如今，這位20歲的模特正在改變歷史。亞丁7歲時與家人移民美國明尼蘇達州，後加入美國國籍。2016年11月，剛進入明尼蘇達聖克勞德州立大學(St. Cloud State University)讀大一的亞丁參加了美國明尼蘇達小姐(Miss Minnesota USA)選美大賽。比賽期間，她堅持頭戴穆斯林頭巾，身穿布基尼，吸引了全世界媒體的目光。她在45位參賽選手中晉級15強，但止步於此——不過，她也由此成爲了首位戴頭巾的模特，簽約模特經紀公司IMG。

She was then picked up by the former Vogue Paris editor and stylist Carine Roitfeld (“my fashion fairy godmother” as Aden describes her), who put her on the February issue of her magazine CR Fashion Book. Aden has also shot covers for several magazines — Vogue Arabia, Grazia and Allure among them — and fronted campaigns for brands such as Nike and American Eagle. In February, at Milan Fashion Week, she walked the catwalk at Alberta Ferretti and at MaxMara. She walked again for MaxMara SS18 in September wearing a raw denim jacket, scarlet lipstick and black skirt.

隨後，她被前《Vogue》法國版主編、設計師卡琳?洛菲德(Carine Roitfeld)——亞丁稱其爲“我的時尚仙女教母”——選中，登上後者辦的雜誌《CR Fashion Book》的2月刊。亞丁還登上了其他幾本雜誌封面，包括《Vogue》阿拉伯版、《Grazia》和《Allure》，併爲耐克(Nike)和American Eagle等品牌活動站臺。在今年2月的米蘭時裝週，亞丁爲Alberta Ferretti和MaxMara品牌走秀。9月，一身原色牛仔外套和黑色短裙的她，頂着紅脣，再一次出現在MaxMara 2018春夏系列的T臺上。

A charismatic, confident speaker, Aden is full of self-deprecating stories about her first major runway experience; how at only 5ft 5in, a good five inches smaller than most other models and a great deal shorter of leg, she practically had to run to keep up; how she had to have low-level heels designed for her so that she didn’t fall over, and how the compulsory dead-ahead catwalk glare was an impossible challenge for someone with her light-up disposition. When telling a story doesn’t quite illustrate her point, she leaps out of her seat to act it all out.

亞丁談吐自信，有着攝人魅力，頻頻以自己初登重要T臺時的種種糗事打趣：她身高僅有1.65米左右，比其他大多數模特都要矮上一個頭，腿也因此短許多，得一溜小跑才能跟上節奏；需要穿上專門爲她設計的矮跟鞋，這樣纔不會摔倒；對於像她這般性情愉快的人來說，T臺上眼睛必須死死盯着前方的要求簡直是不可能的挑戰。如果覺得言語無法完全表達清楚，亞丁會從座位上跳起來，手舞足蹈一番。

Her warmth is infectious, her friendliness palpable. Strangers in the café are greeted by an enthusiastic “hi!” Yet her giggly personality belies a serious mind. “I have an opportunity, through my modelling, to change the way that Muslim women are viewed, to give them a platform to have their voices heard,” she continues. “I’m mindful, and proud, of that responsibility.”

她的熱情頗具感染力，令人如沐春風。她會衝咖啡館裏的陌生人熱情地打招呼。但歡脫的個性掩蓋了她思想的嚴肅。“通過當模特，我有機會改變世人對穆斯林女性的看法，給她們一個平臺發聲。”她繼續說道，“我清楚這份責任，也引以爲傲。”

Aden’s presence at the shows has already had a subtle influence on the culture and attitudes that attend the job of modelling itself. In Milan, in an environment where nudity is the norm, Aden is a rare anomaly. Her faith dictates unique requirements including a cordoned-off dressing room, a chaperone accompaniment at all times and female-only hair and make-up stylists. In a business where models are expected to change in full view of scores of strangers, she’s hopeful that her needs might indirectly bring about a shift in attitude, helping brands to see all models as individuals.

亞丁出現在這些秀場，已經爲模特這份職業的文化和觀念帶來了些微影響。在米蘭時尚圈，赤裸是再正常不過的事情，在這裏亞丁實屬異類。她的信仰會有一些獨特的要求，例如封閉的更衣間，每時每刻都必須有女伴陪伴，以及髮型師和化妝師只能是女性。在模特行業，模特們要在一衆陌生人眼皮底下換衣服，亞丁希望自己的這些需求會間接給這種觀念帶來一些改變，有助於各個品牌將所有模特都視爲獨立的人。

Aden’s arrival on the fashion scene is timely. In a contentious political and social environment — where diversity has become a watchword for freedom — she represents Muslim beauty in an industry that is starting to embrace cultural inclusivism but remains largely ignorant of her faith. Aden is determined not to become a token, but she’s not naive. “If what is happening to me is simply the fashion community making some sort of fleeting statement then I am going to make that statement work as hard as it can,” she says. “I treat every job as if it’s my last.”

亞丁出現在時尚舞臺可謂恰逢其時。在當前這個充滿爭議的政治和社會環境裏，多元化已成爲自由的口號。雖然時尚行業已開始接受文化包容，但對於她的信仰基本上仍一無所知。而她代表了穆斯林的美。亞丁決心不要淪爲一個僅用來裝點門面的花瓶，但她並不幼稚。“如果我的出現僅僅是時尚業爲了蜻蜓點水地表達某種姿態，那我就要最大限度地利用這種姿態。”她說，“我對待每一份工作都像這是我最後一份工作。”

As well as her modelling work, she is also taking on more ambassadorial roles. Next month, she is due to speak at Princeton University. She is also actively involved with Unicef and recently visited victims of the earthquake in a refugee camp in Mexico. But when Aden decided to enter the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, it was not, she insists, as a targeted political statement.

除了模特工作，亞丁還肩負起更多的外交職責。下個月，她將在普林斯頓大學(Princeton University)演講。她還積極參與聯合國兒童基金會(Unicef)的活動，最近訪問了墨西哥一處地震難民營的災民。但她堅稱，自己當初決定參加明尼蘇達小姐大賽並沒有任何政治目的。

“I did it because I wanted to do it. Because, like every other girl who entered — and there were so many inspiring girls, by the way, neuroscientists, nurses, smart girls with horizons beyond Minnesota — I wanted to stand up and say ‘This is me and I’m proud of who I am’.” She had never had modelling aspirations, and was not particularly interested in clothes. The appeal was twofold; girls placed in pageants can get scholarships for their college education and the winner usually goes on to forge relationships with charitable organisations. Yet her decision to enter the pageant was often clouded with doubt.

“我參加是因爲我想這樣做。因爲和其他所有參加選美大賽的女孩一樣——順便說一句，有許多女孩非常出色，當中有神經科學家，有護士，這些聰明姑娘們的眼界可不僅僅侷限在明尼蘇達州——我想站出來，說‘這就是我，我爲自己感到驕傲’。”她之前從未想過做模特，對服裝也不太感興趣。吸引她參加大賽的原因主要有二：參加大賽的女孩可以得到大學獎學金，而獲勝者通常可以與慈善機構建立聯繫。但亞丁參加大賽的決定常常招來懷疑。

“There was a lot of opposition from my community,” she recalls. “Many of them thought that it was inappropriate.” A lot of the pressure, rather than being applied to her, was put on to her mother, a devout Muslim and single parent who made the decision to raise her children in the land of opportunity. “My mum is a strong woman,” she says. “In the end, she supported my decision to be who my heart told me to be.”

“我身邊的人對此十分反對。”她回憶道，“許多人認爲這不成體統。”壓力潮水般涌向了她的母親，而不是亞丁本人。她的母親是一位虔誠的穆斯林。作爲一名單身母親，是她當初下決心帶着孩子們踏上美國這片充滿機遇的土地。“我的媽媽非常堅強。”她說，“最終，她支持了我的決定，讓我聽從我的內心。”

Her faith, and the way that she chooses to dress to express her beliefs, have always been secondary to who she is. “I’ve never let my life be ruled by segregation,” she says. “Jocks, Muslims, swimmers, dancers, they’re all the same to me,” says the girl who had never experienced discrimination before she came to America. “In the camp, there were no cliques. Race didn’t matter, gender didn’t matter, religion didn’t matter. When life is stripped back to its barest essentials, everyone is one and the same.”

亞丁的信仰，以及她選擇的表達信仰的穿着，與“她自己是誰”這個問題相比都是次要的。“我從不會讓種族隔離左右我的人生。”她說，“運動員，穆斯林，游泳運動員，舞蹈家，對我來說都一樣。”亞丁在來美國之前從來沒有遇到過歧視，“在難民營，人不分派系。種族不重要，性別不重要，宗教不重要。當生命迴歸最本質，每個人都是一個個體，都一樣。”

For all the naysayers — and there are still plenty of them, not just strict Muslims, but also non-Muslims who view the hijab as a symbol of subjugation — Aden is fast acquiring an army of devoted fans. Of @kinglimaa’s almost 400,000 Instagram followers, a huge percentage are young Muslim girls. “I want all girls, whatever their shape, size or colour, to know that the most beautiful thing they can be is themselves.”

儘管有不少反對者——反對者數量還不少，不僅僅是虔誠的穆斯林，還有視頭巾爲穆斯林女性受壓迫象徵的非穆斯林們——亞丁快速贏得了一大批忠心耿耿的粉絲。kinglimaa這個Instagram賬號有近40萬粉絲，其中相當大一部分爲年輕的穆斯林女孩。“我希望所有的女孩，無論什麼身材、身高或膚色，都能明白最美好的事情就是做自己。”

Aden’s success looks set to continue. Western fashion houses are now being more proactive in recognising the demands of their Muslim clients. Dolce & Gabbana launched a collection last year that included hijabs; Nike has developed a lightweight “Pro Hijab” that Aden wore on the cover of Allure magazine this summer, and the denim hijab that she modelled for American Eagle’s #WeAllCan campaign this autumn was a sellout. That said, there is still a long way to go. Four of the summer shows that Aden was pencilled in last season fell through because the clothes were too revealing. “But, you know what?” says Aden. “Muslim women don’t stop shopping because it’s the spring. Winter isn’t the only season we like clothes. There’s still a lot of change that needs to happen.”

亞丁會繼續保持目前的成功造型。如今，西方時尚品牌已開始更加主動地迎合穆斯林顧客的需求。Dolce & Gabbana去年推出的一個系列就包括頭巾；耐克(Nike)也推出了一款輕薄的穆斯林運動頭巾“Pro Hijab”，亞丁就是戴着它登上了今年夏天的《Allure》雜誌封面；今年秋天她爲American Eagle的#WeAllCan活動走秀時戴過的一款牛仔布頭巾業已脫銷。儘管如此，亞丁仍有很長的一段路要走。她上個時裝季簽下的春夏秀合同中就有四場因爲服裝過於暴露而告吹。“但你知道嗎？”亞丁說，“穆斯林女性不會因爲春天來了就停止購物。我們不光在冬天買衣服。仍需要很多改變。”

A hard worker from the age of 16 (she worked as a hospital aide to support her studies), Aden is ambitious to make her mark on the world and is prepared to move wherever her work takes her. She is thin — a legacy from a malnourished childhood — but is starting to try to eat well and work out so that she can look her best. Working as a Muslim model in the industry has given her a fascinating perspective on the physical scrutiny most other models are put under. And in many ways, she argues, she has a rare advantage. “‘I don’t have to show the world my body. I don’t have to worry about ‘You’re too skinny’, ‘You’re too thick’, ‘Look at her hips’, ‘Look at her thigh gap’. And, when I go to work, everyone I work with falls over themselves to accommodate my needs. I mean, what other young model gets to have someone with them at all times, looking after their interests?”

亞丁自16歲起就一直努力工作（爲了支撐學業，她在一家醫院做護工）。她雄心勃勃，要在世間留下印記，隨時準備爲工作奔波。她身形消瘦——這要追溯到她那營養不良的童年——但開始努力認真吃飯，積極健身，以保持最佳形象。這個行業對於絕大多數模特的身材要求十分挑剔，而作爲一名穆斯林模特，亞丁可以從獨特的視角看待這件事。她表示，自己在許多方面都享有難得的優待：“我不必向世界展示我的身體。不必擔心‘你太瘦了’、‘你太胖了’、‘看她的屁股’、‘看她的大腿縫’之類的評價。此外，當我工作時，每位合作者都急切地迎合我的需求。我的意思是，其他年輕的模特怎麼能每時每刻都有人陪伴，照顧喜好？”

Aden is grateful for the support she has; not just her family and management but also those influential fashion figures. Roitfeld treats her like a daughter. For the issue of her magazine on which Aden appeared on the cover, Roitfeld commissioned Iman, that most famous of Somali-born beauties, to interview her natural successor. What advice, I wonder, did she give? “She told me to look after my skin, drink plenty of water and to stay true to myself,” she recalls. ‘They will meet you where you stand,’ she said. How cool is that?”

對於自己得到的支持，亞丁滿心感激；不光是她的家人和管理團隊，還有那些有影響力的時尚人士。卡琳?洛菲德待她如女兒。亞丁登上她的雜誌封面那期，洛菲德邀請了最著名的索馬里裔超模伊曼(Iman)來採訪她的同脈後輩。我想知道伊曼給了什麼建議？“她告訴我要保護好皮膚，大量喝水，聽從自己的內心。”亞丁回憶道，“她說：‘他們會主動來找你的。’這簡直太酷了。”