Meet Hijarbie, the world’s first hijab wearing Barbie who is taking social media by storm…
Barbie’s look has changed dramatically since her 1959 creation and just last week she was adapted to come in a variety of different skin tones and three new realistic body types: tall, petite and curvy.
It seems odd therefore that no one has thought to make her accessible to the Muslim market yet by just sewing her a hijab. Thanks to Nigerian student Haneefah Adam, this has all changed. Haneefah noticed the gap in the market after finding a lack of diverse toys for young girls whilst studying in the UK. ‘The idea occurred to me after I felt it would be nice to have a doll in my own image, covered up’.
Just weeks ago Haneefah introduced ‘Hijarbie’ to the public via an Instagram account dedicated to fashion shots of the modestly dressed doll. Designing and sewing all of the clothing herself under the tagline ‘mini hijab fashion’, Haneefah describes Hijarbie as ‘a style star in her own right’. Instead of sporting denim hot pants and a pink plastic halterneck like the doll we all know and love, Hijarbie models high fashion looks with quality couture tunics and full-length dresses, topped off of course with a glamorous hijab to conceal her hair.
Haneefah has told her thousands of followers via Instagram that she is in the process of building a website and working towards making a Hijarbie available for purchase as soon as possible.
This exciting project couldn’t have been timed better with Dolce & Gabbana releasing a line of hijabs and abayas just last month, and if that was anything to go by, we’re sure Hijarbie will be an absolute hit.
‘I hope by updating the page, I’m able to inspire the Muslim girl child and the world at large and hopefully make a positive impact’
Follow @hijarbie on Instagram for some serious Barbie style envy and to keep updated on the project.
