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Somali and American fashion model
Ugbad Abdi
Born 1999 or 2000 (age 23–24) Occupation Model Years active 2019–present Modeling information Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
[1] Hair color Brown Eye color Brown Agency
Next Management (worldwide)
[2]
Ugbad Abdi is a
Somali-American fashion model. Born in Somalia and raised in a Kenyan refugee camp and
Des Moines, Iowa , she debuted as a
Valentino haute couture model, then opened shows for
Marc Jacobs and
Michael Kors at
New York Fashion Week . She is the first model to walk shows for
Fendi and
Lanvin while wearing
hijab .
Early life
Abdi was born in
Kismayo ,
Somalia .
[3] Her family fled the
Somali Civil War , first to a refugee camp in
Kenya , then in 2009, when Abdi was nine years old, to
Des Moines, Iowa with the help of
UNICEF .
[4]
[5] Shortly after graduating from high school in Des Moines, Abdi was scouted on
Instagram .
[6] She visited
New York for the first time to meet with agency representatives, and signed with
Next Management .
[7]
Career
Abdi made her runway debut in the 2018/2019
Valentino
haute couture show.
[8] She has opened
New York Fashion Week shows for
Marc Jacobs and
Michael Kors .
[7] Abdi has also walked in shows for
Chanel ,
Miu Miu ,
Simone Rocha ,
Burberry ,
Fendi ,
Lanvin ,
Max Mara , and
Dries van Noten .
[9]
[7] In April 2019, she appeared in British, American, and Arabian editions of
Vogue simultaneously.
[6] Abdi has been called "one of Fall 2019's breakout models".
[10] In 2022, she appeared on the cover of
Vogue France with Danish model
Mona Tougaard .
[11]
Personal life
Abdi is
Muslim , and began wearing
hijab at the age of fourteen. She wears head coverings while modeling, and in 2019 became Fendi and Lanvin's first runway model to wear hijab.
[4] She has five siblings, two of whom were born after the family moved to the United States. She speaks
Somali and
English .
[6]
References
^
"New York: Ugbad" .
Next Management .
Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
^
"Ugbad - Model" . Models.com .
Archived from the original on October 12, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019 .
^ van Deemter, Christine (October 13, 2019).
"Ugbad Abdi on Joining the New Generation of Modest Models Changing the Runways" . Vogue Arabia . Retrieved December 21, 2019 .
^
a
b Cole, Jess (April 29, 2019).
"Ugbad: A New Face, A New Story, A New Era" . i-D .
Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
^ Gush, Charlotte (May 3, 2019).
"Dazed 100: Ugbad, model" .
Dazed .
Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
^
a
b
c Combe, Rachael (April 14, 2019).
"Ugbad Abdi Interview: The Inspiring Journey of a Game-changing Supermodel" .
The Sunday Times .
Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
^
a
b
c Smith, Ray A. (September 29, 2019).
"The Iowa Teen Opening New Doors in Fashion" .
The Wall Street Journal .
Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
^ Manno, James (April 25, 2019).
"Model to Watch in V119: Ugbad Abdi" . V Magazine .
Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
^ Sargent, Tally (March 5, 2019).
"5 Things To Know About Rising Hijabi Model Ugbad Abdi" . Harper's Bazaar Arabia .
Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
^ Okwodu, Janelle (February 28, 2019).
"Meet the Somali Model Breaking Boundaries in Paris" . Vogue .
Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
^ Trochu, Eugénie (July 21, 2022).
"Mona Tougaard and Ugbad Abdi: The model revolution on the cover of the August 2022 edition of Vogue France" . Vogue France .