For Rebecca Henry and Akua Shabaka, fashion is a family affair. The mother-daughter duo first launched their fashion brand, House of Aama, as a small upcycling project in 2013. It has since grown into a luxury fashion house showcasing the beauty of Black history and ancestral storytelling.
Their multigenerational creations weave rich colors, expressive prints, and silhouettes into a palette of statement pieces-turned-wearable art. Their collections evoke their family’s Southern and Caribbean roots with such names as Bloodroot, Salt Water, and Folk Grounds. It’s no wonder their unique perspectives are frequently spotted on red carpets worn by such celebs as Gabrielle Union, Ayan Broomfield, and Sarah Jeffrey and graced the pages of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, and more.
Now, House of Aama is bringing that storytelling to The Bomb Fashion Show LA on October 14, presented by Cadillac.
Before the show, we caught up with the duo to talk about their creative process, the stories behind their designs and what guests can expect from their upcoming presentation.
FASHION BOMB DAILY: How would you describe your design aesthetic?
HOUSE OF AAMA: House of Aama’s aesthetic is rooted in folklore, familial memory, and Black cultural traditions, particularly those of the American South and the Caribbean. We begin with research: family photographs, oral histories, music, and archival materials and translate those discoveries into silhouette, print, and texture. As a mother-daughter design practice, our work also holds a conversation between generations.
What makes it distinctly ours is that relationship between personal history and imagination: the garments carry stories, but they are made to become part of someone else’s life.
FBD: How do you define luxury? What role do craftsmanship, materials and detail play in that definition?
HOUSE OF AAMA: For us, luxury is care made tangible. It lives in the quality of a material, the thought behind a silhouette, and the attention given to how something is constructed and feels on the body. Craftsmanship gives our stories a physical form, so every choice from fabric to finishing helps communicate what we value. We also think about luxury through the things our families have kept and passed down. An object becomes precious through both its making and its use, gathering meaning over time.
FBD: What excites you most about interpreting a luxury vehicle through your own creative lens?
HOUSE OF AAMA: We’re interested in how two different expressions of American luxury can come into conversation. Cadillac has a strong presence in cultural memory, particularly through music and film, and those are also sources we return to in our work.
The VISTIQ in Radiant Red gives us an opportunity to explore color, proportion, and presence through pieces from our collections. We’re thinking about how the garments and The VISTIQ can complement one another while each retaining a distinct identity.
FBD: Without giving too much away, what can guests expect from your collection? What details should they look for when seeing the looks for the first time?
HOUSE OF AAMA: We’re bringing together a selection of House of Aama pieces with saturated color, expressive prints, and contrasting textures. Guests will see fluid silhouettes alongside knitwear, with rich blues in conversation with warmer reds and golds. Look closely at how the artwork translates across different materials, and how the fabrics catch the light and move with the body. Music and cultural memory are recurring threads in our work, and this presentation offers another way to experience those stories.
