House of Aama gave us vintage Diana Ross in a jazz scene for their FW24 show. The mother-daughter designer duo, Rebecca Henry and Akua Shabaka, pay tribute to the Avant Garde Jazz Scene and their all-time favorite movie, Mahogany with timeless dresses and beauty looks.
“We wanted to do something that had movement and music to it,” Henry tells ESSENCE. “This collection is a mixture of jazz references and Afrofuturism,” she adds. “It also has the glam and glitz of mahogany, and how Diana Ross presented herself in that era.”
With the help of hair stylist Gary Baker and makeup artist Michela Wariebi, the team created a look that supports this theme. “Everything is about nostalgia,” Wariebi says. “When I spoke with Akua and her mom about this, my first point of reference was a photo of my mom in the ‘70s, because it’s exactly what they asked for in terms of the blush and the lip,” Wariebi says.
“Diana was really that girl, you know. She had the eyes to carry the bottom, top, lashes and that’s a lot of what informed us here.” Tarte Cosmetics was used on the face while Danessa Myricks was used on the lashes. “There’s a little bit of disco in here too,” Wariebi adds about the shimmery eyes.
Baker tells us, “sometimes, back in the ‘70s, hair was over-permed and overtreated, but Diana Ross nailed it. You’ve got a little bit of texture still in the hair, but beautifully dressed,” Baker adds about the inspiration behind the show’s afros, curls, fluffy silk presses, and more.
Thanks to its channeling of nostalgic looks, this season’s House of Aama show reminded us that our texture paired with glowing skin and a pop of lashes will never go out of style. Plus, now we’re inspired to stop everything we’re doing to rewatch Mahogany. A win-win.
