Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Courtesy of Hanifa On a recent warmer-than-usual fall day, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., was decked out with pink lighting, chairs engraved with “Hanifa” on the back, a pale-pink carpet as a runway, and a live orchestra that was performing songs like Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later.” Anifa Mvuemba, the 31-year old founder behind Hanifa, was having her first fashion show. Mvuemba never had plans to have a runway show.
A Hanifa design. Photo: Shannon Finney/Getty Images Her latest fashion show reflected these women. Plus-size models, who are usually sent down the runway in safe looks like long black dresses at other shows, instead wore sultry sheer jumpsuits, body-hugging dresses, and bold prints. The crowd cheered and gave Mvuemba a standing ovation.
In the hotel lobby of the casting, Mateo explained that she believes that lack of community is what holds a lot of designers back in the industry who don’t care to be as inclusive. “If our consumers are everyday people, why would we have them looking at a standard that’s not real?” Mateo asked. “The runway reflects the times, and the times of just a blonde girl walking are over. We should be representing what we see on the street every day.
“That’s the holdup. It shouldn’t be that hard. Look around you,” she said. “It’s all over, and if you’re choosing to not see that, it’s because you’re stuck in your bubble, and that’s the problem. But if you want to be stuck in your bubble, I don’t think you should be reporting to the world, telling it what it should look like.” Mateo added that leaving out an entire sector of people isn’t doing your due diligence as a casting director.