Anifa Mvuemba, founder and designer of the contemporary women’s clothing line Hanifa, continues to raise the bar and forge her own trail in the fashion industry. On Tuesday evening, over 400 guests gathered at the National Portrait Gallery in the designer’s hometown of Washington DC to witness the debut of their Fall 21 collection, titled “Dream”, on the brand’s first-ever personal catwalk show. Many of the guests in attendance were from DC and the surrounding area. Other notable guests were the founder and designer of Pyer Moss Kerby Jean-Raymond, the founder of the Black Fashion Fair Antoine Gregory and the founder and designer of Theophilio, Edvin Thompson.
The venue was bursting with bright colors and intricate designs as many attendees arrived in anticipation of Mvuemba’s largest collection to date, featuring over 30 looks, including shoes, in signature looks of the brand. The guests took their seats under a haze of magenta lighting and the sound of a string orchestra and the crowd sang to songs by Beyoncé, Rihanna, Drake and Frank Ocean. The show began with a video montage narrated by Mvuemba, which featured the brand’s previous designs, press clips, and behind-the-scenes footage of the catwalk show’s model casting call. “I always wanted my fashion influence to go beyond clothing,” Mvuemba said as she pondered the brand’s vision. The assembly gave an insight into the past, present and future of Hanifa. At the end of the video, the first model of the evening graced the catwalk in a striking blue PVC trench coat paired with the Zoe boot in bones, followed by a variety of models with different body types, skin tones and hair structures. From a sleek red power suit with a waistband to backless sweaters and high-slit skirts to the figure-hugging, floor-length denim dress of the finale, each piece immediately caught the eye and told its own story.
The fall ’21 catwalk show debut took place on a monumental day for the designer, as November 16 marked both the brand’s 10th anniversary and its 31st birthday. The highly anticipated event takes place a year and a half after the brand’s virtual debut for the Pink Label Congo collection, inspired by the Congolese designer’s homeland. In 2020, Mvuemba’s plans to showcase her collection at New York Fashion Week were stifled by the pandemic. In an effort to keep her business going and raise awareness of the mineral site conditions occurring in Central Africa, Mvuemba decided to proceed with a virtual collection reveal via Instagram Live. The Maryland-based designer brought in her love of engineering by using 3-D renderings of invisible model silhouettes to showcase each look. The show went viral, grabbing the attention of many and showing what the future of fashion shows might be like.
Since its launch in 2011, Hanifa has been a pure e-commerce brand that has achieved its cult exclusively through social media marketing and newsletters. Hanifa’s bold designs have been worn by celebrities like Tracee Ellis Ross, Zendaya, Lizzo, Sarah Jessica Parker and Bella Hadid and can also be seen on the big screen on HBO’s hit series Unsure on Natasha Rothwell. The decades-long journey of Hanifa is a sign that there are really no limits to the development of this brand through reliability and continuous innovation.
The collection will be available exclusively on Hanifa.co starting Friday, November 19, at prices ranging from $ 300 to $ 1,500 in sizes from XXS to 3XL.
Take a look at the new collection in all its glory beforehand.
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