The African diaspora radiates beauty, regality and undoubted resilience. Not surprisingly, all of these qualities, and more, have made their way into the style of apparel embraced by African people no matter where they live worldwide. In exciting news, a new lifestyle brand is celebrating this magic to help empower and inspire the fashion and community conscious, while also encouraging communication and networking. Enter The Malaika Collective. The Malaika Collective is a new brand aimed at creating a multicultural home for Black and Brown people from all parts of the African diaspora and their friends and allies alike. As a collective, the brand’s apparel pays homage both to the traditional homelands where the diaspora finds its origins, as well as the of the new countries and fresh beginnings that promise so much for the future. Currently, The Malaika Collective is running an exciting crowdfunding campaign on iFundWomen to help bring its first collections to market. All are encouraged to show support.
“The Malaika Collective is a culmination of a five year venture of innovative storytelling through fashion, media, and education,” commented founder Rita Bunatal. “I found inspiration and empowerment through my Ghanaian and Kenyan heritage. We have seen success with our early, sold out, t-shirts. And now we look forward to taking things to the next level and having a positive impact on fashion and the world.”
B eyond simply an apparel effort, The Malaika Collective has much larger plans that are emerging to help empower the community. A key part of this is scheduled for the Summer 2022, when The Malaika Collective will launch its first flagship location in Brooklyn. This space will double as a retail store, as well as being an immersive, membership-based innovation hub for Black creators and entrepreneurs.
Planned highlights of the sure-to-be exciting location will include interactive educational walls, a kitchen that prepares Afro-fusion inspired dishes, and a co-working + co-creation space along with a separate event space to host events celebrating the heart, culture and traditions of both Brooklyn and the pan-African diaspora. The co-creation space will be available to the members of The Malaika Collective community.
The iFundWomen campaign will help make all of this, and much more, a reality.
A number of different perks are available depending on donation size related to the iFundWomen campaign. The iFundWomen Malaika Collective page also goes into great detail about recent activities from the collective and its recent challenges faced, including the last year in the face of Covid-19.
Support the Malaika Collective crowdfunding campaign here. Be sure to visit the official website at https://www.malaikaapparel.com.
About The Malaika Collective
We are Malaika Collective. We are the world’s first lifestyle fashion brand that cultivates conversation and community about the histories and cultures of the Pan-African diaspora. From our African-inspired fashion spreads to our carefully-curated online threads, our goal is to get you to discover your efiɛ, your nyumbani… your home.