Supermodel Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid will receive the Franca Sozzani Award in acknowledgement of her humanitarian work throughout her modelling career. The award ceremony will take place in Venice, Italy on August 27^th.

The award, which is named after the late editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia Franca Sozzani, was created to honour women for their artistic work as well as social commitments. Following Franca Sozzani’s death in 2016, her son Francesco Carrozzini established the award in his mothers memory. Julianne Moore was the first person to receive the award in 2017, followed by Salma Hayek the following year.

On the decision to honour Iman, Carrozzini stated, “Iman’s work has disrupted the fashion industry in a way similar to Franca’s: bold, innovative and inclusive”.   

Iman has been involved in humanitarian work for multiple organizations such as UNICEF, Save the Children and the Dr Hawa Abdi Foundation

Born in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1955, Iman began her career in 1975 and took the modelling world by storm. She became a muse for multiple high-end designers, such as Gianni Versace, Yves Saint Laurent and Halston to name a few. In 1994, the supermodel launched IMAN Cosmetics, a beauty company targeted towards women of colour.

*This article was originally posted on our previous website on 8th August 2019.