Iman Eldeeb on composing new models of beauty

In the muted light of a casting room, where first impressions speak louder than words, Iman Eldeeb watches a young woman walk. There’s no glamour yet—no styling, no lighting—but Eldeeb isn’t looking for polish. She’s watching for presence, something she describes as the way someone “carries a sense of self, even when they’re not trying.”

It’s a fitting metaphor for her own work. As the founder and CEO of UNN Model Management, Egypt’s first model management agency, Eldeeb is part of a growing movement to bring more diversity into global fashion as a whole. But she doesn’t chase headlines or frame her efforts as disruption. Instead, she works with quiet precision—building careers, developing confidence, and slowly but steadily redefining how beauty from the Middle East and Africa is seen in a heavily Eurocentric and Western dominated industry.

Her journey into fashion was shaped not by a singular ambition, but by a series of creative discoveries. Raised in Cairo, Eldeeb left Egypt to study fashion design and styling at NABA in Milan, where, as she puts it, “nothing felt impossible if you could envision it.” That early education in visual storytelling became foundational, as did her later training in filmmaking at IED. These twin disciplines—styling and direction—gave her an instinct for narrative: in clothes, in image, and in the evolving identity of a model.

But it was her time in the modelling world itself—first in Milan, later in India—that helped sharpen her perspective. She began to notice what was missing. Models from Arab and African backgrounds, when present at all, often appeared without context or continuity. There was little in the way of long-term guidance, and even less understanding of cultural nuance.

When Eldeeb returned to Egypt, she saw not only a gap, but a responsibility.

“I saw how cultural stigmas around beauty shaped the way young women, including myself, viewed themselves. We were taught to hide or alter our natural features to fit narrow, imported standards,” she recalls. “After years, I realised that what we were taught to suppress was actually something rare, undiscovered, powerful, and deeply needed.”

That realisation became the foundation of UNN, which she launched at just 25. The agency’s mission was clear from the start: to scout and develop talent from Egypt, the MENA region, and Africa, and to represent them internationally—with care, intention, and cultural awareness.

UNN now works with major global houses—Louis Vuitton, Dior, Saint Laurent—and with publications like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Yet its aim isn’t just exposure. Eldeeb is more interested in transformation than visibility. At UNN, development isn’t just technical, but an internal project where the lived realities of the models are given centre stage, and where a sense of self, belonging and confidence is nurtured, and as she puts it, “mothered”.

“The fashion industry demands thick skin. And that comes from confidence, individuality, and a real understanding of how the industry works,” she explains. “These are the core elements we focus on in our development workshops for models and new faces.”

Her approach is informed by her own artistic background. “Styling taught me how to shape a visual identity—how clothing, posture, and detail can tell a story,” she says. “Filmmaking added another layer: understanding presence, emotion, and the power of subtle storytelling in motion.” It is why, in her development work, a model’s lived experience matters as much as their runway walk.

“I crave realness and guide models to understand who they are in front of the camera—what kind of energy they bring, and how to tap into their own life experiences to create authentic presence,” she adds. “That’s what sets models apart. It’s about building a career, not just booking a job.”

The results are already tangible. One of UNN’s models became the first Egyptian face of MAC Cosmetics in the Middle East. Another was the first Egyptian woman to request a model visa at the French embassy—a small administrative step, but a powerful symbol of inclusion in the larger fashion system.

“It’s like a breath of fresh air—and about time it happened,” Eldeeb says of these moments. “It’s humbling and motivating to witness new paths being carved, where Arab models and talents can finally see accurate representations of themselves and what’s possible.”

Of course, representation can be a complex space to navigate. In an industry that often prefers familiar features and established archetypes, how do you introduce something new without compromising its origin?

Eldeeb’s answer is thoughtful. “The MENA region, especially Egypt, offers a wide range of highly diverse faces, all different and unique from one another,” she says. “With the right support and vision, there exists an Arab, African, or Egyptian model that can be both authentic and familiar. That is the core of representation.”

She resists the idea that her work is simply about inclusion for inclusion’s sake. For her, the goal is depth—models not just seen, but understood. She also resists the label of activism.

“I wouldn’t call it activism,” she says. “I see it as a cultural movement rooted in expression. We’re not here to dictate what beauty should be, but to expand how it’s seen and understood.”

Running a company, meanwhile, requires a different kind of discipline—especially in a region where female leadership often faces subtle resistance.

“In my experience, I’ve seen hurdles come in different forms,” she reflects, “with the commonality of fighting a patriarchal mindset and system that profits off the disempowerment or false protection of often young women—especially when being assertive or direct gets labeled as aggressive or emotional.”

To navigate that, Eldeeb has learned to set clear structures while staying rooted in purpose. “After navigating many hurdles, lessons, and growing pains, I’ve learned to find a crucial balance—one that stems from founding UNN not just as a business, but as an artist driven by passion and purpose,” she says. “The key has been understanding the difference between nurturing talent and mothering talent.”

And for young women in the region who want to step into a space that wasn’t built for them?

“Learn to face what you dislike about yourself—and choose to love it, instead of hiding or changing it,” Eldeeb offers. “That’s where real confidence begins. When you know who you are, you don’t wait for space to be made for you—you take it. And remember: don’t try to fit in, but don’t try too hard to stand out either. Just be deeply, unapologetically yourself.”

In Iman Eldeeb’s world, beauty is not a product of perfection, but of presence. The work she’s doing is deliberate, sometimes quiet, but always meaningful—less about changing fashion overnight, and more about making space, step by step, for something lasting and more humane.