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Meet the New Girl: Hanaa Ben Abdesslem Would Love to Change the Way the Middle East Views Modeling

Tunisian model Hanaa Ben Abdesslem made her runway debut in Vivienne Westwood’s spring 2011 show in Paris. But it was her Givenchy couture exclusive three months later — where she chopped her hair into a Jean Seberg-esque bob — that really got the 20-year-old noticed. After signing with IMG Models worldwide thereafter, Ben Abdesslem was shot for Carine Roitfeld’s final March 2011 French Vogue issue, cast in a beauty spread that highlighted her startling resemblance to eighties top model Talisa Soto. Having successfully walked her first New York Fashion Week this past February, modeling for Ralph Lauren, Anna Sui, and Oscar de la Renta, we anticipate a long and bright career in the industry, which she hopes will incorporate more of the Arab world.

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Meet the New Girl: Hanaa Ben Abdesslem Would Love to Change the Way the Middle East Views Modeling