The Tag: Hanifa Clothing Designs With Women of Color in Mind
In today's retail-scape, you can shop anywhere-including on Instagram. In our new column The Tag, we're highlighting indie brands we've discovered (and fallen in love with!) through the social media platform. Read brand backstories and product reviews, then share with a friend so you can both amp up your wardrobe.
It all started with a post-baby thirst trap from the mother of snapback bodies, Ciara. The singer posted an Instagram where she posed in a mirror, dressed in a white button down shirt and fire red, figure-hugging pants with a flared ruffle leg. “I need those pants,” I yelled at my phone.
I mean, just look at them:
A post shared by Ciara (@ciara) on Dec 6, 2017 at 7:11am PST
I quickly sifted through the singer’s comment section to find the brand’s official page. Hanifa Clothing. Black bodies doused in a saccharine palette of bright greens, pinks, reds, and whites filled the brand’s page and as I scrolled I kept thinking, “Wait, I can actually wear that color?”
Founder Anifa Mvuemba launched Hanifa Clothing in 2012 after dropping out of a fashion program at Morgan State University. As a woman of color with a non-sample-sized body figure, Anifa saw an opportunity to design simple yet sexy and sophisticated clothing for women whose curvier bodies are often underrepresented in the fashion industry.
Read on as Mvuemba shares the Hanifa Clothing backstory, how Instagram has changed her business, and why she designs specifically for women of color.
What inspired you to launch Hanifa Clothing?
I’ve always been interested in fashion but I just didn’t know what exactly I wanted to do. I thought I was going to work at one of my favorite fashion magazines or something but life kind of has its own plan. I was probably 20 going on 21 at the time and had just dropped out of school. A week before my 21st birthday, my friends were throwing me a party and I thought, well, I have some fabrics so let me just put something together (I had a little bit of sewing experience from high school.) I made this dress and put a photo up of me in on Instagram and got around 40 likes. At the time that was a lot so I thought maybe I can really do this. I enjoyed making the dress, the feedback was really good, so Hanifa was birthed in 2012.
What does Hanfia mean?
My name, Anifa, is an Arabic name pronounced Ha-nee-fah. It just felt right. My name means truth and I believe so it was perfect for my journey and how I got here. I wanted to believe in myself and live in my truth, so it was the perfect name for my brand.
How would you describe the “Hanifa” girl? What type of woman wears Hanifa?
The Hanifa girl is a boss; she’s not afraid to be bold, she’s sexy, her style is feminine. When I first started designing it was more about making clothing that felt comfortable for me and things my friends would like. Then it grew into designing more for black women. When I design, I’m designing for women of color and using colors that work for our complexion, things that fit our hips, and different proportions. Perfecting the patterns for my collections is so important and the sampling process is so crucial because I have to make sure the pieces accommodate most women of color because our bums are usually bigger and our hips are wider.
There are plenty of ruffles, puffy sleeves, body-conscious silhouettes. How did you develop Hanifa’s design aesthetic?
My mom. She has this boss lady, sophisticated yet sexy style and I grew up seeing her style and sort of incorporated it into my own. I had to make it a little younger and fresher, but my mom inspired my style for sure.
I used to travel a lot when I first started the brand, so the places I've traveled to like Dubai are also an inspiration. Colors also inspire me and are very important to the brand. We test them against black skin to make sure they look good. All in all, I wanted to create Hanifa to help black women shop. It’s still such a struggle.
You make it a point to use black models of different sizes and colors on the Hanifa Instagram. Why?
Representation is important, especially when we talk about younger generations seeing themselves in fashion. I was recently looking at a few old magazines, I’m talking from the '70s and '80s and it was shocking how scarce women of color were in magazines. I kept scrolling wondering, “When am I going to see my skin color? When am I going to see my body type?" It’s almost as if we weren’t considered. I just wanted to make the Hanife Instagram account more realistic. Most of us have hips, most of us have curves, so it was important to include us in all of my visuals.
How has Instagram helped your business?
Instagram is where our followers get the first look at a collection or what I’ve been working on. It’s been a major tool in helping me promote my business. However, I have a love and hate relationship with Instagram. Sometimes it can just be too much but business-wise, it has helped a whole lot. My biggest fear is my page shutting down or disappearing. I’ve heard horror stories about brands losing their pages. I’m trying to work on ways to be present without relying too much on social media.
The STACI pants is one of Hanifa’s most popular designs and was worn by Ciara. What inspired that design?
It was definitely inspired by the '70s era. I remember having such a difficult time with these pants. At the time, everyone was using ruffles, but I love flared, bell bottom pants and so I tried the combo then posted a photo of my sister wearing them. I had no idea it would blow up the way it did. They actually weren’t supposed to look like that, so I call those a beautiful mistake.
A post shared by Ciara (@ciara) on Dec 6, 2017 at 7:16am PST
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