With cheekbones sharper than a knife and a hijab placed delicately on her head, senior Bama Nanić kills the Instagram game with her following of 29.3k.
Nanić has a public Instagram account where she posts selfies of her makeup looks or company sponsored outfit-of-the-day pictures, gaining an average of 3,000 likes each picture.
“It started just as my regular account and it still is,” Nanić said. “Popular pages on Instagram started reposting my pictures so people started following me, and that’s when brands started contacting me.”
Hitting three or 4,000 followers, Nanić started reaching out to companies on her own to start out with one or two inquiries under her belt. Due to the smaller following, she was expecting to face some struggles of finding companies.
“I was surprised when Becca Cosmetics contacted me because my following is still relatively small,” Nanić said. “Businesses mostly care about follower engagement over the amount.”
She has worked with countless hijab brands in LA and the UK, and has received offers from a brand in Dubai. Self-owned eyelash brands, Dodolashes, ttdeye contacts and Sunglass Spot are just some of the many companies that have been in contact with Nanić. Currently, she is a brand ambassador for Diamante scarves in LA and in affiliation with Becca Cosmetics.
“Working as an ambassador for Diamante scarves has helped me in professional and promotional aspects. I feel ready to hold any business conversation with separate brands and handle marketing and promotional strategies with their products,” Nanić said. “With Becca, it’s just pretty lit because I’m on their PR list so I just use their makeup and promote it through selfies.”
Nanić started experimenting with makeup products in middle school when she fell in love with what makeup represented.
“It’s just a subjective form of expression that I feel enables girls to feel good about themselves and their talents,” Nanić said.
Although her Instagram account showcases her makeup talents and fashionable outfit choices, Nanić is working towards achieving a pre-med/neurology path. Nonetheless, she is letting herself experiment with the business industry, currently working on a project with designer Jihad Sabla.
“As of right now, I’m working with a designer on a hijab brand for low-income Muslim women,” Nanić said. “Islamic attire is crazy expensive. Me being broke, I wanted to have more access to modest, but attractive attire and the costs were just too expensive, so I contacted the designer and she was totally for it, so we’re partners now!”
Nanić and Sabla are currently on the last stage of finalizing their webpage and finishing the orders. They’re focused on producing mostly abayas, a long dress but open in the front, as well as headscarves.
“We want to provide stylish modest clothing at an affordable price. The modest fashion market takes advantage of the fact that there are so few of them around, and the ones that are around skyrocket their prices,” Sabla said. “We both believe you don’t have to have a ton of money to be able to dress nice and modest, without breaking the bank. We kind of think in the same way so it just works.”
Sabla hopes to spread awareness, kindness and humility with their work. The share of their profit goes to Islamic countries in need amongst other charities.
“Before you’re a Muslim, Christian or whatever you are, we are all human. We need to see each other that way regardless of social or economic status,” Sabla said. “Basically, this is our small way of trying to bring kindness back into the world.”
Senior Cheryl Ma, a good friend of Nanić, is amazed by the kind of influence she is spreading through her Instagram account.
“I know a lot of young hijabis who are insecure about wearing a hijab look up to her, and it’s cool to use social media for social change,” Ma said.
Through her ever-growing Instagram platform, Nanić is hoping to continue influencing young Muslim girls.
“I know first hand that hijabis on Instagram have inspired me since I was a freshman. Seeing girls who dress similar to you in a society where we hijabis stand out, we feel comforted by these insanely gorgeous and talented hijabis online,” Nanić said. “From my perspective as an influencer, I’ve had tons of younger girls tell me they’ve started feeling more confident in their hijabs because of me, and to me, no other feeling can compare to knowing that I’ve helped young Muslim girls with their self-esteem.”
