Hamamat is no stranger to fashion as a Ghanaian is no stranger to “Jollof.” Well, I hadn’t met her but I thought she was rude. She looked pretty and had just won a pageant so I concluded she had a repulsive attitude. She won’t even smile at me, definitely, she is full of herself. Then I met her and wondered if this was a persona I had just created in my head or I had rather met the wrong person. She was calm and elegant just like I knew she’d be just that this time she wore a smile and exhumed warmth and not just a dress. Now it’s either I don’t know her at all or she had skidded off the road leading to the misconception surrounding who she was through the wrong spectrum.
SHE IS A VERY SUPPORTIVE LEADER.WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET .SHE’S FULL OF LIFE ,SHE STICKS TO HER PROMISES AND SHE’S VERY DEDICATED TO HER KIDS ;OF HER NEEDS HER,SHE STOPS EVERYTHING TO BE THERE FOR THEM .I’M GLAD TO CALL HER A FRIEND BECAUSE SHE BELIEVES IN THE DREAMS OF ENTREPRENEURS ,SHE’S COMMITTED TO UPLIFTING OTHERS AND A VERY SELFLESS WOMAN! ;ESSIEIZSPICY
EARLY LIFE
HAMAMAT MONTIA IS A FREE SPIRIT .SHE STAYS FOCUSE ON HER DREAMS AND LIVES IT !SHE IS A STRONG AFRICAN WOMAN WITH TWO ADORABLE AND SELFLESS CHILDREN INSTILLED WITH LOVING AND GIVING HEARTS .SHE IS A PHILANTHROPIST WITH A BIG HEART :MUBARAK MONTIA
“There are certain aspects of Hamamat which remain the same yet still, she is a growing into a woman.”
To begin with, Hamamat is fully Ghanaian. Her dad is Sisala from Kandia Upper West Region and her mum is from Bongo in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Now this is what you probably did not know. Hamamat was born in Bolgatanga but moved to Accra in her tot stages. Her early days were characterized by happy memories shared with her extended family with lots of kids while in the northern part of Ghana before moving to Accra. Her mum Aisha Taimoko is everything to her. She is a naturalist, a cook, owned restaurants, sold Shea butter and an organic freak who has continuously influenced her existence to this very day.
The Hamamat we know and have come to love is not a recent development. Before Malaika she did have a life; she was your typical teenager who would do everything every teenager her age would do. Growing up, visions changed and dreams changed. Miss Malaika came at the stage where she was on the heights of the need to discover herself. It was a life changing experience which greatly impacted her life. The Hamamat brand was bound to succeed and Malaika was just the perfect springboard for this leap which has pushed her into the limelight.
What is Hamamat passionate about?
“People are not poor because they don’t live like how you do”
Just like the misconceptions people have of her that have to be cleared, she seeks to clear the misconceptions that exist about her people in the northern part of Ghana. Most dominant of which is that people in the north are afraid of getting rich because they think it will change their life. “Yes my people are mostly poor but it doesn’t translate they are deprived of the zeal for success. Just like everybody they have dreams and aspirations and yearn to be heard. Although contentment is settling they are a happy people in spite of their circumstances. So this is why I do what do I what I do to tell their story with fashion.
Brand
“You can achieve the world and keep your culture and that’s what I want the world to know.”
Lately, you’ll see a lot of Hamamat on social media in something African. The direction of that is to showcase Africa in every sense; be it in terms of fashion or its places particularly the northern part of Ghana.
Hamamat is a proud African brand because Hamamat is an African woman showcasing Africa everywhere. On the other hand, Hamamat is not associated with any particular brand house. She wears what she feels reflects her identity. “You would mostly see me wear Kakaa though and that is because she understands my style preference and knows very well I like to represent myself in what I wear. But aside her, if I feel any other particular designer suits what I represent, I will wear their work. For instance Suzzy in Osu. I feel happy wearing her designs because my business supports her livelihood and that puts a smile on my face. It doesn’t matter the size of the designer I will wear their works so far it suits my brand.”
STYLE
“Fashion itself is expressive and my style is an expression I make every day.”
Hamamat is a creative person and she likes to express that by contributing to the designing of what she wears. She actually has a say in what she wears. Also, Hamamat does everything African. That is the trademark. Some may think it’s limiting but Africa is the origination of many styles we see around us. The influence of African fashion is ever reaching into almost every other culture you may think about and this is not surprising because Africa is the hub of civilization and fashion is one the few remnants of this influence we have on the world. So in a few words, she does a variety of African-influenced styles from ranging from vintage, modern, contemporary, and simplistic to hip. She doesn’t put herself into one box of style because that to her is limiting.
What project is Hamamat currently working on?
My daughter came home after school one day and said to me “Mummy I want to be as beautiful as Cinderella.” Right there I realized the problem and did my research; there weren’t books on children African beauty role models. I wondered to myself why she would say something like that. So I started on my book project Zuzu and Sasa which was named after my two daughters Zuri and Sasari. So what I do is to visit schools and read to enlighten kids on loving who they are and being true to their nature; the proud beautiful African.
So far she has done her book reading project in 16 schools in Accra with the purpose of having these kids relate to the characters in the book and understand that they could be just as beautiful. After the project in Accra, she went through Ashanti region and now in the Upper East Region. The passion for this project stems from the truth that being black is beautiful and you can be beautiful being black. The aim is to raise confident children who are not ashamed to show the world where they are coming from and who they really are; a proud black people. Looking on, you can’t build a future without knowing your past.
What does motherhood mean to Hamamat?
“Motherhood to me is the essence of my life. It has redirected my life and I’m glad it came early in my life.”
READING THE BOOK ‘MOGUL MOM & MAID BY WORLD RENOWNED AUTHOR LIZ O’DONNELL QUITE CONNECTS ME TO THE PERSONALITY/IMAGE HAMAMAT .SHE IS A WOMAN WHO STRONGLY BALANCEHOME LIFE AND CAREER.(MICHEAL JAYDEN )
She has two beautiful girls; Zuri and Safari who are both 4 years and 15 months respectively. But at heart, she insists she is a mother to any child who loves to teach others just as she would teach her own. “It wasn’t hard. It was more like an innate part of my being so I just embraced what was truly within and it took my kids to bring in that changed in my life. “
According to her, she doesn’t need a specific day such as mother’s day because she treasures each day and shows her love accordingly. Parenting to her is about making long-lasting indelible memories with your kids so she tries to create as many memories each day with them just as her mum shared with her because life is too short to lose even a second of it, she believes.
What should we expect from Hamamat in the future?
“All I can say the future is bright with Hamamat in it.”
Life is unpredictable and so is Hamamat so expecting one thing in particular from Hamamat will get you disappointed. But one thing that is definite is that whatever that is going to come from her in the future will be impactful and amazing. As she travels all over Africa and her own country she will continually draw inspiration which will spiral her into doing and achieving more. So all I can say is that the future is bright with a daring mama bear who draws inspiration to change the world from her baby cubs.
GHANA NEEDS MORE OF HER AND MORE OF SUCH GREAT INSPIRATION.SHE IS A TRUE REPRESENTATION OF A LOVING MOTHER AND A MOTHER OF AFRICA .SHE LOVES HER CULTURE AND BELIEVES THERE IS HOPE FOR GHANAIAN CULTURE AND AFRICA AS A WHOLE.(YOURSTYLENOTEBOOK)
FASHION EDITOR : NUEL BANS
MODEL : HAMAMAT MONTIA
PHOTOGRAPHER : JOSH SACKEY
DESIGNER : HOUSE OF PAON & TOTALLYETHNIK
MUA : SHADES AND BRUSHES
STYLIST : DONEAL
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