In The World Of African American Fashion: Meet Twin Designers Ayaan and Idyl Mohallim…
Meet Twin Designers Ayaan and Idyl Mohallim
“We want to be successful and empower women to do the same. It’s time for women to rule the world”
Ayaan and Idyl Mohallim were born in Alabama but raised in Somalia. At a young age, they returned to the U.S. due to a civil war erupting back home. They moved right outside Washington, D.C., in Northern Virginia. As a way to understand their new surroundings, the twins turned to fashion. They didn’t speak any English, so their mother would buy them fashion magazines. They couldn’t read the language in the magazines, but they understood the photos, “fashion is one language that everyone understands”. From there, their love for fashion began.
After graduating from college, the twins had their sights set on a career in fashion, so they moved to New York. While in New York they both started working in fashion, Idyl did design and production at Jill Stuart and Ayaan interned at Betsey Johnson. The experience they learned led them to start their own line. In 2009 they launched “Mataano” (meaning “twins” in Somali) an Africa-inspired clothing line.
Mataano’s premier collection launched in New York City and garnered notice throughout the industry. Since then, the line has showcased six collections during New York Fashion Week.
Mataano is a women’s contemporary ready-to-wear line with pieces that redefines timeless elegance by infusing modern edge and global sensibility.
Jeanette Foss
Nice clothes they have made:) #SITSBlogging