The spark for Maono Ya Nafsi to evolve into a fashion label was ignited in 2019 after looks she’d made for herself to wear garnered attention at Black Fashion Week in Paris. “A lot of the designers were asking me, ‘Who made your beautiful outfit?’ so I felt like I was living a dream,” she laughs. She’s gone on to nurture her futuristic, avant-garde aesthetic. “Maono Ya Nafsi is a world that transcends the way I see life on Earth with all of its cultural and ethnic diversity. It’s my understanding of how creation can be limitless.”

Taking her first collection to Côte d'Ivoire, she shot with photographer and artist Théo Fanny and dressed football star Djibril Cissé. And for the current collection, she’s collaborated with photographers Henry Boadu and Hyu in Paris. “This collection is inspired by the way I see royalty and majesty. The longer lines are out of the ordinary while the shorter looks and capes are more every day, taking their cues from Asian styles and science fiction,” she says. “This idea of multi-functionality is essential to me. I thank the creative source of the universe that I function in multiple ways in almost everything I do. And I’m grateful to be able to make my contribution to the development of the economy, culture and art across Africa.”