Malimania

Trace your roots

Malimania is a Helsinki-based fashion and lifestyle brand established by Nadir Mohamud and Salma Jama. Having grown up in Finland, Nadir and Salma were often puzzled by how they did not see billboards or commercials around them showing people who looked like them. This led them to think that the space of an ideal face of fashion editorials was not for them. Nadir and Salma decided to challenge this narrative.  

In August 2020, the founders of Malimania decided to realise their long-held dream by gathering a group of people who shared their background to create their first-ever editorial. After publishing the images online, Malimania was surprised to receive tons of feedback worldwide, exclaiming how long-needed this kind of images had been within the fashion world.   

This exhibition is ​​a story of Nadir and Salma, tracing their roots through the combination of culture, fashion, and art. Malimania's mission is to inspire people to acknowledge their roots as a unique strength, not a weakness, and to emphasize the importance of intercultural exchange and diversity in the 21st century, both in fashion and culture more broadly. 

Malimania:
Nadir Mohamud and Salma Jama

Photographers:
Hayley Lê and Salamata Mboup

Photographer's assistant:
Herdian Rusmana

Make-up artist:
Yousra Chafak

Models: 
Yusuf Ali, Ayan Dable, Abas Ishetu, Xafsa Ismail, Abdullahi Jama, Maryama Jama, Khaula Mahdi, Yusuf Moge, Salah Mohamed, Aisha Salah

Collaborators:
Daily Paper, Weekday