Looking at 20-year-old Shahira Yusuf, you might not guess she's tipped to be the fashion world's next big star.
But London-born Shahira isn't just any new kid on the runway. She is going to become one of Britain's first hijab-wearing catwalk models.
"I was first spotted by a modelling scout when I was 17. But I wasn't ready then," she says. "When you are young you are naive and live in this unrealistic sphere, you've got to be mature otherwise an industry like this can swallow you up."
We meet her in the busy offices of Storm management. Wearing a grey hijab, the softly-spoken model tells us she has clear boundaries about what she will and won't do. All her test shots show her fully clothed.
She was discovered by the agency's founder Sarah Doukas - who also discovered Kate Moss.
Last year, Shahira made headlines after posting a viral tweet with pictures of herself in an oversized grey suit. The caption read: "I ain't no Kendall Jenner but I'm a black Muslim girl from east London that's about to finesse the modelling industry."
Shahira was born in the UK but her family is originally Somali.
"I'm conscious of the fact that I'm visibly Muslim but it's not a huge deal," she says about wearing the hijab.
Source : bbc
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