Trailblazing model Halima Aden attending Australian Fashion Week

She made headlines earlier this month as the the first model to grace the pages of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition wearing a hijab and burkini.

Now trailblazing fashion model Halima Aden is jetting into Sydney to attend Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia.

The 21-year-old Somali-American will attend the event's final days including the official closing party as a guest of telco giant Huawei.

"Halima is among the most trailblazing and iconic models of our era, and we're thrilled to have her in Sydney to witness the exceptional talent showing at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia," IMG's Ivan Bart told AAP.

"Just like Halima, Australian designers offer a unique perspective within the global industry and define what's next in fashion."

Halima, 21, recently made history as the first model to grace the pages of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition wearing a hijab and burkini, a swimsuit which covers the entire body except for the face, hands and feet.

“I keep thinking [back] to six-year-old me who, in this same country, was in a refugee camp,” the 21-year-old told the magazine.

“So to grow up to live the American dream [and] to come back to Kenya and shoot for SI in the most beautiful parts of Kenya – I don’t think that’s a story that anybody could make up.”

The model grew up in a Kenyan refugee camp before moving to the United States with her family when she was seven years old.

She came to public attention as a teenager after refusing to remove her hijab while competing in the 2016 Miss Minnesota beauty pageant.

In 2017, she became the first hijab-wearing model to appear on the cover of Vogue magazine.

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