{"id":43941,"date":"2023-11-23T14:36:57","date_gmt":"2023-11-23T10:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/me\/?post_type=articles&p=43941"},"modified":"2023-11-23T14:37:16","modified_gmt":"2023-11-23T10:37:16","slug":"dream-big-azza-slimene","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/me\/articles\/dream-big-azza-slimene\/","title":{"rendered":"GRAZIA Cover Star Azza Slimene On Making A Difference: \u201cI Want To Change The Narrative\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Azza
From GRAZIA\u2019s 7th print edition, \u201cElemental\u201d.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s no beating around the bush for Azza Slimene. She\u2019s here to make a difference and she wants people to know that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to change the narrative,\u201d she tells me when we sit down together after her photo shoot for GRAZIA. What exactly does she mean by this, I ask. \u201cI just feel like it\u2019s really my duty, that I\u2019m not just there for showcasing dresses and clothes. I want to show what\u2019s happening in the world and be the voice for people who don\u2019t have a voice.\u201d That\u2019s a huge declaration for a 26-year-old to make, but it\u2019s crystal clear she means every word of it.<\/p>\n

Born and raised in Tunisia, Azza is the youngest of eight girls. Growing up, Azza\u2019s family was very tight-knit, but being the youngest, at times she felt she had nine parents. \u201cBecause I was the youngest, everyone was trying to parent me, even my sisters,\u201d she recalls. \u201cBut we all love and support each other; it\u2019s a modest family.\u201d While she may not have travelled internationally much when she was younger \u2013 unlike nowadays \u2013 Azza explored the many facets of Tunisia with her family. \u201cI visited a lot of cities in my country, trying to discover more about our history, traditions and culture,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt\u2019s beautiful, you know, we have the beach, the desert and so many interesting parts of our culture.\u201d However, Azza admits parts of her formative years were also challenging. \u201cWomen were not as free as men,\u201d she states bluntly. \u201cSo, that\u2019s the difficult part.\u201d In particular, Azza describes the \u201csocial boundaries\u201d she met when it came to following her passions in the world of fashion.<\/p>\n

\"AZZA<\/a>
From GRAZIA\u2019s 7th print edition, \u201cElemental\u201d.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Azza can\u2019t exactly pinpoint when she fell in love with fashion and resolved to pursue modelling; it was just a \u201cgut feeling deep down\u201d that it was what she was meant to do. \u201cI knew I could bring something to the table,\u201d she asserts. \u201cI know I\u2019m able to help designers express themselves through me, making their vision come alive.\u201d This self-assurance must have been evident from the first meeting, because the individual who \u2018discovered\u2019 Azza in 2017 was none other than fellow Tunisian, designer Azzedine Ala\u00efa, just months before his passing.<\/p>\n

While studying at university, Azza had taken up modelling and was scouted by Next Models in Tunisia. \u201cAzzedine called me his \u2018belle plante\u2019,\u201d she recalls, which means \u2018beautiful specimen\u2019. \u201cHe told them, \u2018I need this girl in France; I need her in Paris. I need to work with her.\u2019\u201d The next thing she knew, she, along with all of her belongings, was on her way to the designer\u2019s home in Paris. There was only one other person Ala\u00efa is known to have mentored on this level \u2013 one of the most successful supermodels in the fashion industry, Naomi Campbell<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Looking at it from this perspective, it seems like Azza\u2019s trajectory to fashion stardom was simple. Get discovered by one of the most celebrated couturiers of the last century, move to Paris, become a supermodel. And the rest, as they say, is history\u2026 But not quite. It\u2019s been, as Azza describes it, \u201ca long journey\u201d. \u201cMy parents did not accept me as a model,\u201d she reveals. It went against what she was taught, her culture and what was expected of her. Deemed a \u2018bad profession\u2019, Azza had to \u201cshow them what modelling was really about.\u201d At that time \u2013 just over six years ago \u2013 Arab models were few and far between. \u201cIt was an impossible dream,\u201d Azza declares. Met with doubt not only from her parents but also her peers, she was encouraged to forget about her dream to break into the fashion industry, highlighting it was largely down to the fact she didn\u2019t meet the \u2018white standards of beauty\u2019. But Azza was undeterred.<\/p>\n

\"AZZA<\/a>
From GRAZIA\u2019s 7th print edition, \u201cElemental\u201d.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Just one year after being discovered by Ala\u00efa, Azza made her debut at Paris Fashion Week, modelling for Chanel\u2019s Fall\/Winter 2018 collection. It was a turning point not only for her career, but also for her parents\u2019 understanding of her journey. \u201cIt\u2019s the first time they finally understood the profession,\u201d she says. The milestone was covered by regional and international media, platforming Azza on the global fashion stage, something she is utilising to break down barriers in the fashion and modelling space. She\u2019s here to break stereotypes of the so-called typical model. \u201cI think it\u2019s no secret that the modelling industry has for decades been very Eurocentric,\u201d she highlights. \u201cThere has been no diversity. For too long the traditional definition of a \u2018model\u2019 has been an incredibly skinny, very tall, blonde \u2013 basically white beauty standards and very few Arab models. So I feel like I\u2019m breaking boundaries and challenging social norms by being Tunisian-North African-Arab, working with the biggest brands\u2026 I feel like I\u2019m doing a great job to inspire young women.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just something she feels \u2013 it\u2019s evident. With a following of over two million on Instagram<\/a>, she is constantly flooded with messages from young people calling her their idol. \u201cIt\u2019s a big word. It is really overwhelming,\u201d she admits. But Azza is also well aware she has become the representation she didn\u2019t have when she was growing up. \u201cWhen I was young, I was wishing to find an idol from my country doing big shows or being the voice of women,\u201d she explains. \u201cSo that\u2019s why I\u2019m trying to do my best to be a positive force on social media by discussing women\u2019s rights, talking about modelling in a positive light and discussing body shaming \u2013 they\u2019re pushing me to do my best.\u201d<\/p>\n

And she\u2019s not afraid to discuss hard-hitting issues, such as women\u2019s rights in Iran. \u201cI want the world to see what\u2019s really happening there,\u201d Azza states. By this she is referring to the outrage which followed the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died in custody after being detained by Tehran\u2019s Morality Police, who alleged Mahsa was violating dress rules pertaining to the hijab law. This resulted in uproar and protests \u2013 arguably the biggest the country has seen in over two decades \u2013 from many in Iran, mainly women, to bring an end to the compulsory hijab law. It\u2019s been described by The Guardian<\/em> as \u201cbiggest challenge for the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the Iranian women who inspired me to speak up \u2013 they are so courageous,\u201d Azza comments. \u201cI just listened to their voices, you know. It\u2019s hard to support them in a way that we wish we could. But I feel like I can; I could support them with sharing posts by allowing the world to see the truth and what\u2019s really happening there. Because the mainstream media is not sharing their voices, they\u2019re not showing the truth, so I feel it\u2019s like, my duty to do that as a woman.\u201d Azza often meets with backlash for speaking on such issues. This takes the form of people unfollowing her, horrendous hate messages and even threats. However, she doesn\u2019t let that affect her speaking up on such issues. \u201cI really don\u2019t care,\u201d she says, dismissively. \u201cI\u2019m not doing good for followers or to make people love me, you know; I\u2019m doing this to show the truth and to raise awareness. And I will not stop.\u201d It goes hand-in-hand with her high-profile modelling career.<\/p>\n

\"\"
From GRAZIA\u2019s 7th print edition, \u201cElemental\u201d.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not only is she travelling the world for her fashion career, but she\u2019s a keen human-rights activist, advocating for women, working as an ambassador for the International Federation for Human Rights. \u201cI love modelling, but I don\u2019t want to just be a beautiful model. I want to work with organisations to platform the voices of people who don\u2019t have a voice, to make a change,\u201d Azza declares. \u201cI don\u2019t want to just be beautiful and show clothes, I want to use it in a more important way.\u201d Azza is directly involved in the defence of human rights, especially with women\u2019s rights and the environment, working with the federation.<\/p>\n

Regardless, Azza is thankful for what modelling has afforded her, and she believes Ala\u00efa is still watching over her. \u201cHe\u2019s like a spiritual father for me,\u201d she says. \u201cHe\u2019s guiding me.\u201d And it\u2019s what she loves to do, which was obvious during her fantastic GRAZIA photo shoot. \u201cI felt like a flower in the ground, you know? It\u2019s really spiritual, in a way it\u2019s like connecting with the Earth,\u201d she says. But what she noticed, most of all, was the team. \u201cThere were so many women! The photographer, the art director, the styling, the set design. It\u2019s so amazing to see a lot of talented women in the industry across all spaces,\u201d she enthuses.<\/p>\n

Azza Slimene isn\u2019t just here to be ornamental, but to be a strong voice for Arab women too.<\/p>\n

PHOTOGRAPHY<\/strong>: ESRA SAM
\nFASHION DIRECTION<\/strong>: ANNA CASTAN
\nHAIR<\/strong>: JEAN-LUC AMARIN
\nMAKEUP<\/strong>: ANDREY SEBAOUN
\nLIGHTING ASSISTANT<\/strong>: FAYCAL BOUHASSOUM
\nMANICURIST<\/strong>: NAFISSA DJABI
\nSTYLING ASSISTANT<\/strong>: GABRIELA CAMBERO
\nTALENT<\/strong>: AZZA SLIMENE
\nWORDS<\/strong>: OLIVIA MORRIS<\/p>\n

\u201cDREAM BIG\u201d IS PUBLISHED IN THE 7TH EDITION OF GRAZIA MIDDLE EAST ORDER YOUR COPY HERE.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42685,"featured_media":43945,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[260,65,35],"yoast_head":"\nAzza Slimene GRAZIA Cover Story: Dream Big<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Azza Slimene is the face of GRAZIA for the latest cover story, read more about the model and pick up a copy of the hardcover.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/me\/articles\/dream-big-azza-slimene\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GRAZIA Cover Star Azza Slimene On Making A Difference: \u201cI Want To Change The Narrative\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Azza Slimene 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