When Algerian boxer Imane Khelif steps onto the November 16th, 2024 cover of M Le magazine du Monde, photographed by Karim Sadli, she arrives not merely as an athlete but as something more elusive: a symbol of how power reshapes the very definitions of beauty, belonging, and cultural currency in contemporary fashion.
Khelif’s ascent from the boxing ring to the front row has been nothing short of meteoric. Fresh from her historic gold medal victory at the Paris 2024 Olympics—Algeria’s first-ever Olympic gold in women’s boxing—the 25-year-old fighter has become fashion’s most compelling new muse. Her journey speaks to a broader transformation within luxury: the industry’s growing fascination with figures who embody strength, defiance, and authenticity over conventional prettiness.
In Sadli’s lens, Khelif wears Bottega Veneta’s red tailoring with the same commanding presence she brought to Roland Garros, where crowds chanted her name and waved Algerian flags. Stylist Leila Smara orchestrates a wardrobe that reads like a deliberate negotiation between athletic power and luxury refinement: Loewe, Uniqlo, Acne Studios, Petit Bateau, and Balenciaga. Her hair, styled by Laurent Philippon, her makeup by Christelle Coquet, and her manicure by Alexandra Janowski, complete a portrait that challenges fashion’s historical ambivalence toward women who occupy physical space unapologetically.
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The production, orchestrated by Brachfeld, captures something fashion has historically struggled to articulate: that femininity neVogue Arabiaed not be delicate to be desirable, that elegance can coexist with muscularity, that beauty standards are cultural constructs waiting to be rewritten.
Khelif’s emergence as a fashion figure didn’t happen in isolation. After her Olympic triumph, Bottega Veneta’s creative director Matthieu Blazy—who described her as a champion of determination and authenticity—invited her to sit front row at his Milan Fashion Week show, beside actress Julianne Moore. That moment signaled a broader industry shift: luxury houses increasingly seek ambassadors who represent cultural conversations, not just aesthetic ideals.
Her trajectory mirrors fashion’s evolving relationship with athleticism and diverse representations of femininity. As Vogue Arabia noted when featuring Khelif on their cover, she embodies a new era of beauty—one that honors strength, cultural identity, and the refusal to conform to narrow standards long dictated by Western fashion capitals.
This M Le magazine du Monde cover story arrives at a moment when fashion grapples with its own contradictions: proclaiming diversity while too often defaulting to familiar faces and bodies. Khelif’s visibility matters precisely because she exists outside those defaults, her presence forcing a recalibration of who gets to be called beautiful, desirable, worthy of the cover.