ZAINAB AL EQABI IRAQI TV PRESENTER AND PARA-ATHLETE ADDS DIVERSITY ON RUNWAY AS SHE WALKS FOR BOSS AT MILAN FASHION WEEK!

Article By: Mahnum Najaf Sayal

As little girls, we believe in building our world full of dreams, where there is no set boundary. Reaching the stars and sky being the limit isn’t an impossibility. Then the course of life hits us, and we leave it to fate, and many of us forget to pave the way to our destiny. But then some girls maybe are born to break the stereotypes. Who grow out even brighter from confined places. They stay so firm when time tests them that even God is bound to change their fate with a smile. Similar happened with a girl who, after reaching the stars, landed on the runway of Milan Fashion Week – meet Zainab Al Eqabi.

A pharmacist, a tv presenter, a para-athlete, a differently abled activist, and an influencer Zainab Al Eqabi, can now tick another box and add a model to her portfolio. She was tapped by Boss and made her debut this year at the Milan Fashion Week as she walked the runway for the fashion house’s Fall 2022 collection. Dressed in the signature hues of Boss, in a camel trench coat with a black turban and matching black buckled leather boots, she added and championed diversity. She confidently shared the space with an inclusive cast for the show, such as hijabi Somali model Ugbad Abdi, Naomi Campbell, Ashley Graham, Jourdan Dunn, the TikTok sensation Khaby Lame, and the rapper Future. 

With this collection, Boss redefined the notion of empowerment while staying true to the brand's ethos. The brand kept the pieces from their archives as an inspiration; the fashion house deconstructed and then reinvented a collection that could cater to and give diverse options to people, even youngsters, who could feel unique in their skin. Adding the shades of charcoal, brown, and cream along with their set neutral color palette and the signature camel, the power suits varied from structural to loose-fitting.

Image Courtesy: Boss

Baghdad-born Al Eqabi personified the concept and fit in perfectly well. Her resilience and strength in life are commendable. In 1997 Zainab was severely injured after an undetonated bomb exploded in her family’s garden during the First Gulf War. After the wound was infected, her leg was amputated. She moved with her family to UAE in 2001. And in no time, she created a Facebook page and group for disabled people. For people who had lost hope in life, she helped them gain it back and helped them fight against this taboo and stigma, more so a label so they could cope in their daily lives. Giving them their voice back which echoed all around the world. 

The weakness people made her see didn’t stop Al Eqabi from excelling in life. She strongly believes the more she shows her weakness as her biggest strength, people will also start perceiving it how she does. Giving light to her achievements, such as being the first amputee tv presenter in the Middle East after appearing on MBC1’s Yalla Banat (Let’s Go Girls). She’s also completed two triathlons in the UAE and the Dubai Fitness Challenge in 2020, where she hauled a 2000 kg Jeep! 

Well, all I can say is more power to this full-of-life soul. May she continue to inspire women of all ages around the globe, showing them that the barrier can be pushed to the ground.