Halima Aden wears hijab and burkini in Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue

Halima Aden has made history as the first model to be featured in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue wearing a hijab and burkini.

On Monday, SI announced on Twitter the Somali-American model had been chosen for the magazine’s rookie class of 2019 in a tweet that has since been liked more than 1,000 times.

In a photo from the shoot, which was shot by photographer Yu Tsai, Aden is pictured posing in a blue and teal burkini with a matching hijab. The look is completed with bright yellow earrings.

For the publication’s yearly swimsuit issue, the Muslim model travelled to Watamu Beach, Kenya, the country of her birth.

The 21-year-old was born at the Kakuma refugee camp, before moving to the United States at the age of seven, according to SI.

While in Kenya for the Sports Illustrated shoot, Aden told the magazine: “I keep thinking [back] to six-year-old me who, in this same country, was in a refugee camp.

“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.”

Aden first became a recognisable name in the modelling industry in 2016, when she broke barriers by being the first woman to compete in Miss Minnesota’s USA pageant while wearing a hijab.

During the swimsuit portion of the pageant, where she placed as a semi-finalist, Aden wore a burkini.

Shortly after, Aden, who is also an ambassador for Unicef, signed to IMG Models, and has since been featured on the cover of Vogue and walked in New York Fashion Week shows.

Of her latest opportunity to embrace her Muslim background while carving out a place for herself and for modest fashion in the fashion industry, Aden told Good Morning America there were a lot of “moments where everyone was breaking down crying”.

“It’s a huge moment,” she added. “Sports Illustrated is proving that a girl that’s wearing a bikini can be right alongside a girl that’s wearing a burkini, and as women, we can come alongside each other and be each other’s biggest cheerleaders celebrating the diversity of women.”

As for what she hopes to achieve with the shoot, Aden said she wants to break stereotypes and show girls “yes you can, you’re a queen. Yes you can”.

Despite Aden's positivity towards the photoshoot, Twitter users have expressed mixed reviews.

"Sexist and objectifying magazine still sexist and objectifying," commented one user.

Another commented: “Good for Halima. More nonsense for the larger debate.

“If you’re going to wear the hijab and cover your skin — whether you think our religion calls for it or you want modesty — it is completely counterintuitive to strike a sexy pose in a magazine known for objectifying women.”

However, others found Halima's photographs to be "historic" and "ground-breaking".

"I did not know what a burkini was until now! Thank you @si_swimsuit for bringing this lovely lady on my feed and educating me! This is a super impressive shot, and I love it!" commented one Instagram user on the photo posted by the publication.

One added: "Amazed every year by the inclusivity efforts of the issue this year is a new level [sic]."

Another tweeted: “Halima Aden writes history again. She is the first model everrr to wear a hijab and burkini for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. Love. Use the power of fashion and magazines to make society more inclusive [sic].”

According to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editor MJ Day, the 2019 issue has “one of the biggest and broadest samplings of beauty” ever featured.

“We believe beauty knows no boundaries,” Day said. “Whether you feel your most beautiful and confident in a burkini or bikini, YOU ARE WORTHY.”