| Malika Louback | |
| Birth Name: | Malika Louback-Mohamed |
| Birth Place: | Djibouti |
| Height: | [1] |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
Malika Louback-Mohamed is a Djiboutian-French fashion model and engineer. She is the first Djiboutian woman to feature on the cover of Vogue France.
Malika Louback comes from Djibouti. She has two sisters.[2] Her first name means "queen" in Arabic, and her surname means "lioness", in Afar language, one of the languages of Djibouti.[1] Her mother is Moumina Houmed Hassan, who has been Djibouti Minister for Women and the Family since 2016, after a career in non-governmental organizations and the World Health Organization.[3] Her father works as an engineer.
Following in her father's footsteps, Louback has three college degrees: a Diplôme universitaire de technologie in industrial and maintenance engineering, a bachelor’s degree in physics and another degree in materials science engineering.[4] She came to Lyon in 2013, and spent six years there for her studies.[5] She then stayed to model in Paris.[6] Her two sisters also live in France.[2]
Louback had always wanted to be a fashion model as well as an engineer, "to have several strings to my bow", she says, and believes that her engineering experience helps her be more attentive to detail as a model.[6] She takes her fashion inspiration from her mother, grandmother, and other Djiboutian women.[6] [7] She reached out to IMG Models via their website as soon as she had completed her third degree. She got an immediate call-back, and signed with them in September 2019.[8]
In the spring/summer 2020 season Louback walked in shows for Jil Sander in Milan, Yves Saint Laurent in Paris, Chanel and Hermès.[8] [3] Her first magazine cover was Vogue Paris in September 2020; she was the first Djiboutian woman on that cover.[8]
Louback spent the 2020 French pandemic lockdown in a small Paris apartment with roommates.[8] She did the occasional FaceTime modeling shoot.[9]
In 2021, Louback became "the face" of fashion house Loro Piana.[6] Since 2022, she has been one of the top 50 models of Models.com. She received two Model Of The Year (MOTY) nominations; 2021 Model of the Year (Nominee) and 2020 Breakout Star (Nominee) in the Models.com Industry Awards.
She has gone on to feature on a number of magazine covers: Vogue Adria (April 2024), Elle France (September 2023), V Fall (preview 2022), Numero (April 2022), Vogue France (February 2022), Vogue Japan (September 2021) among others.[10]
Louback is also the face of Italian luxury label Loro Piana.[11]