Mother and daughter design duo, Rebecca Henry and Akua Shabaka, are the founders of House of Aama. It is through the medium of fashion, that Henry and Shabaka work to create a conversation around the Black experience. “We aim to evoke dialogue, social commentary and conversations around heritage and remembrance, and to shed light on nuanced histories,” says Shabaka.  

While on the journey to creating their Fall 2020 collection, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “We had to have a heart to heart with ourselves to decide if now was a good time to move forward with our anticipated  product launches.” Together, mother and daughter decided that instead of the fall collection they were planning, this was a time to continue to fulfill their mission and create a new line of reasonably priced products designed to inspire. “We are determined to look fear in the face, feel it and forge ahead with a meaningful product that we feel good about and that might provide comfort and inspiration to others in these times.”

The result is their Silhouette Collectibles collection. A limited edition run of hoodies, totes and tees exploring the tradition of silhouettes as depicted in antiquity and the postbellum South. “We were inspired by silhouette artist, Kara Walker and portrait artist, Kehinde Wiley,” remarks Shabaka. “House of Aama uses the black silhouette to center the Black physical form in its depiction of the Het-Heru image from ancient Egyptian antiquity in hieroglyphs, and our modern rendition of the Southern belle using a Black female physical form.”