Hanifa’s founder,
Anifa Mvuemba, invites us into the routines, values, and creative vision that shape both her life and her brand. During the brand's Resort '25 collection shoot, the intentionality of the space mirrored Hanifa’s ethos, offering a natural synergy between creativity, relaxation, and beauty. To her, living “anything but standard” means embracing life fully and without limitation.
What does a typical morning look like for you? Are there any grounding rituals that help you ease into the day?
My mornings usually start with my daughter waking me up – but I always take time to pray and ground myself spiritually before diving into the day. After making her breakfast and getting coffee, I’ll jump right into work.
What’s one non-negotiable in your daily self-care routine—something that keeps you connected to yourself?
Prayer. No matter how busy the day becomes, prayer grounds me and keeps me aligned with my purpose. It’s where I find peace and clarity before stepping into the demands of leadership and creativity. Those moments of prayer throughout the day re-center me so I can pour into my family, my work, and into others from a full place.
How do you find stillness or reset during moments of creative intensity?
I’ve been learning how to take real breaks to focus on my family and myself. Sometimes you just have to push through, but trying to take real breaks instead of CEO breaks has helped me reset when needed.
Hanifa has become synonymous with powerful, feminine silhouettes—how do you think style serves as a form of personal storytelling?
Style speaks before words do. Whatever you put on communicates how you want to be seen and how you see yourself. Everything we create, we do for women without limits.
What does it mean to dress with intention in your world, and how does that reflect in Hanifa’s designs?
Dressing with intention means honoring yourself. Hanifa’s pieces are designed to empower women to embrace their presence, take up space, and show up fully as themselves.
How do you hope people feel when they wear Hanifa?
The goal is always to make women feel confident and beautiful in our clothes.
How does your heritage or personal background inform your creative decisions?
Everything I do comes from a personal place. When I started designing clothes, I was really doing it for myself before I realized people liked what I was putting out into the world. Staying true to who I am as a person and as a designer informs every decision I make.
Miami is a place that embraces boldness and beauty in many forms—how does a setting like The Standard Spa influence the way you think about creativity, relaxation, or luxury?
The Standard Spa is such an intentional space. From the minute the Hanifa team stepped on property, it was obvious how aligned the location was with our Resort collection. It allowed us to dive into our shoot with the luxury and beauty of the property highlighting the clothes in a way that felt easy. The intention behind The Standard Spa allows creativity, relaxation, and luxury to come effortlessly.
What values are at the heart of Hanifa, and how do you protect or evolve those as the brand grows?
Faith, Relationships, and Innovation. Everything we do, we do with these values in mind, and staying true to our values has always been a catalyst for growing the brand.
Can you speak to the importance of representation and visibility in fashion, and how Hanifa carves space for that?
Representation is everything. When women see themselves in our clothes, the goal is always for them to feel beautiful and empowered. Everything we design is with our Hanifa Women in mind. Our clothes are intentionally made to celebrate curves, elongate lines, and move with the body rather than against it. By honoring different body types in our design process and showcasing that diversity in our imagery, we carve out space for women to recognize themselves in fashion and to know that luxury is for everyone.
As a founder and creative, how do you create space to pause and be present?
I’m learning that presence is a discipline. I sometimes have to force myself to turn off work-mode and live in the moment. For me, that looks like putting my phone away, logging off of my computer, and spending time with family.
What does anything-but-standard living mean to you?
To me it means embracing life fully and living without limitations.
