How the Mother-Daughter Duo Behind House of Aama Created Their Entirely Personal Met Gala Looks
Mother-daughter duo Akua Shabaka and Rebecca Henry are the creative force behind House of Aama, a Los Angeles–based fashion label that has been telling “nuanced Black diaspora stories” since 2015. Just three days ago, they hosted a presentation during New York Fashion Week and are sporting their latest spring 2022 collection at the Met Gala’s cocktail reception held before the dinner.
“We feel a deep alignment with this year’s Met Gala theme as it relates to the African American unique relationship to America,” Shabaka and Henry told Vogue over email. As the gala is celebrating the new exhibition “In America: A Lexicon of American Fashion,” it was appropriate that House of Aama was telling a specific, often overlooked American tale through its clothing. The collection, titled Salt Water, is set in a fictionalized Black resort community called Camp Aama. Through clothing, they set the scene in a vacation community similar to ones that flourished in the early 1900s in the United States, while also highlighting African water spirits Yemaya, Olokun, and Agwe. The name “Salt Water” is an ode to, “the Africans who crossed the Atlantic Ocean and survived the middle passage to the Americas.”
“We worked together to conceptualize and bring forth the story of Salt Water by conducting historical research and honing in on the relationship of Black people to water that would lend itself well to a story told via textiles,” Shabaka and Henry said. They intend on showing up at the cocktail party as characters from Camp Aama, embellishing their creations with even more personal touches.
Ahead of the gala, mother and daughter got ready together, with makeup artist Maite Moreira from New York Makeup Academy and hairstylist Anthony Hernandez with CUTLER. Shabaka wore the orange debutante cocktail dress with hand beading, with a Ghanaian Akuaba doll tucked into the back of her gown. Henry wore the Chickenbone crop top and coordinating skirt; she will take a doll of the water deity Yemaja with her to the cocktails as well. See how they further personalized their ensembles below.