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View all search resultsEgyptian modelling agency ‘decolonizing beauty standards’
Eldeeb forged an international career in European fashion capital Milan, where photographers told her she was “the first Egyptian model they had ever seen”.
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B
etween the frenzied rush of wardrobe changes and photographers readying for shoots, Iman Eldeeb’s agency is slowly breaking new ground for Egypt’s fashion scene by hiring a diverse lineup of models.
Eldeeb forged an international career in European fashion capital Milan, where photographers told her she was “the first Egyptian model they had ever seen”.
Seven years later, she returned to Egypt in 2018 and set about shaking up a fashion scene where old stereotypes prevail.
In the Arab world’s most populous nation, modelling has long been dominated by “girls from Eastern Europe, with fair complexions”, said Eldeeb.
The 28-year-old said such “obsolete” standards have made it difficult for Egyptian and Arab models to break into the industry.
“Beauty cannot be limited by the appearance and shape of a face and so on. I feel this is a misconception of beauty,” Eldeeb told AFP.
“Hair color, eye color, all these things were part of a very old understanding of beauty and this is something we are moving away from as much as we can.”
