Gambian Fashion Brand AAJIYA Sheds Light On The History Of Cowry Shells In Her Beautiful New Collection ‘PETAW’

by Nana Tamakloe September 22, 2021

September 22, 2021 1.4K views

Afrocentric fashion brand Aajiya is a ready-to-wear contemporary fashion brand founded by the creative Gambian fashionista Aajiyah Maimuna Cole. The brand works to change the narrative of African fashion with aims to empower women who embrace their full identity and freedom.

AAJIYAH IS HERE TO EMPOWER

Her latest collection is mind-blowingly beautiful! In it, is an eclectic mix of eccentric styles obeying the laws of women empowerment. From suits to shirt dresses, palazzo pants, and more. However, the fabric used is signature(d) with print patterns reflective of what most know as cowrie shells, but in her native language Petaw, which is also the name of the collection.

PETAW COLLECTION MAGNIFIES THE ESSENCE OF COWRY SHELLS

In a caption of their collection presentation, the brand emphasized the following in their caption “Cowrie shells are one of Africa’s most successful and universal forms of currency in the precolonial era.”

This of course is very true, and highlighted in an article we published in 2015 titled ‘MUST READ: Why Cowry Shells Need To Be Adopted More By Ghanaian Designers & Lovers Of Ghanaian Fashion’ as seen below.

MUST READ: Why Cowry Shells Needs To Be Adopted More By Ghanaian Designers & Lovers Of Ghanaian Fashion

According To The Brand

This collection is all about colors, prints & rich African history. We want you to feel every piece of the garments from the collection & encourage you to push the narrative.
The PETAW collection launched 3 months ago and is still available to purchase on the designer’s website, you can see the looks below.

CREDITS:
Founder, creative director and designer: Maimuna Cole @maiicole
Models 💙💙💙 @roheeys @hvny.jpg @saptieu @felicialda @idaanjie
Stylist @agneswfowler @gladysdeborah
Hair @sainachune
Hair assistants: @rahwashair @bbalive
Makeup: @johanna_nordlander
Makeup assistants: @terezaluyirika @martinandr
Photoassistants @patrikschonberg Björn Weidinger
Production @swedishfashioncouncil @_robindouglas