Moda Operandi, House of Aama Unveil ‘Parable’
The capsule launched for immediate shipping on Moda Operandi on Wednesday.
Moda Operandi launched “Parable,” a capsule collection with Los Angelesbased brand House of Aama.
Consisting of 10 variations of tulle mesh dresses, tops and skirts and featuring printed artwork created in collaboration with visual artist Gianni Lee, the collection explores how species use flora and fauna as a means of survival in the Global South.
The pieces are intended to invoke a specific energy, bringing out the inner goddess within the wearer.
“For the tulle mesh capsule, we decided to present the body as a canvas with original artwork depicting geometric forms and anthropomorphised floral depictions with human attributes,” Rebecca Henry and Akua Shabaka, the mother-daughter design duo behind House of Aama, said in a statement.
“This new collection embodies ‘art' as the body serves as a canvas, a gallery, while the actual garments are the paint medium. It was important to bring that nuanced feeling of a painting to these pieces, and that all started with the artwork. You can even see it in the images I created for this collection, the brush strokes, the colors blending…it all lays on our skin in a certain way. I credit that to the fabrics House of Aama selected…and I'm excited to see these pieces worn,” said Gianni Lee, the artist that collaborated with the House of Aama designers on the prints for the capsule.
This is the second time the brand has explored the now ubiquitous bodyconscious mesh tulle fabrication.
Moda Operandi launched the brand exclusively in spring 2022 after it was “charmed by the mother-daughter duo's design aesthetic and the storytelling behind each piece,” said Marc Rofsky, buying director. “The breakout hit of the collection was the La Sirene dress — it went viral, was worn by a number of celebrities, including Gabrielle Union, and sold out three times. Based on the success of the figure-flattering dress, we partnered with the brand to develop a 10-piece capsule in the same stretch mesh fabrications across new dress and separate silhouettes, in striking colors and prints.”
The capsule launched Wednesday on Moda Operandi, following House of Aama's fall 2023 runway show during New York Fashion Week. Prices from the “Parable” capsule range from $350 to $655. The complete fall 2023 collection will be available for preorder on Feb. 23.
House of Aama, which was established in 2015, manufactures 100 percent in Los Angeles. The brand explores the folkways of the Black experience by designing timeless garments with nostalgic references informed by historical research, archival analysis and storytelling.