Somali and American fashion model
Ugbad Abdi
Born 1999 or 2000 (age 24–25) 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 .