I saw on Instagram that Hanifa has decided to take a pause and it stirred some emotions for me. Apparently this is resulting from system issues behind the Hanifa Friday sale in November last year. A hurricane of long processing times (due to high volume of sales), manufacturing problems, and goods being held in customs longer than expected. And the cherry on top to move this into a category five with catastrophic damage: backlash and dogpiling from customers on social media about it (all while she was on maternity leave).
Anifa Mvuemba, the founder of Hanifa, has acknowledged that the execution of Hanifa Friday was not perfect. From what I’ve seen she has put validation to the frustrations of her customers. She has tried to rectify the problem—”responses, refunds, working around the clock to expediate things.” All of this with a much to be desired portion of grace— “when you are a Black woman, the margin of grace is thinner and that reality is exhausting.” So exhausting it can stifle your inspiration and cause you to take a step back and ask the question, “Is it all worth it?”
Like so many others, for whatever reasons at a similar crossroad in life, I felt that question to the core. And had a few more myself…isn’t purpose the thing that makes life worth living? But is purpose supposed to take as much life as it gives?
Crazy, I can’t help but think about the purpose of Jesus when I asked myself these questions—the man who actually did give up His life to fulfill ultimate atonement and reconciliation. But God, seriously, that’s Jesus. We are mere mortals. Sometimes I have to set multiple snooze alarms to even pull myself out of bed in the morning. And God, we try to live out our purpose while also trying to motherhood successfully the children you have blessed us with, because that’s purpose too, so there’s that.
Here is Anifa, the one who was sewing every single order up until March 2018. The one being her own manufacturer during that time because she didn’t have the resources and didn’t even know where to find a manufacturer! Anifa, the one who gave us that viral 3D fashion show!
I agree with a few others that we really could step all the way back and furrow our brow at a bigger system inherently set against people like Anifa to at least understand why there could be certain problems with Hanifa’s systems. But that’s not the point of this post.
I don’t own any businesses, but I find myself empathetic with her, which is really the point of this post. Not to dismiss anything that Anifa has already apologized for, but just to empathize with life forcing you to slow down, re-evaluate, and take care—being in a “growing pain” situation that makes you question what you are building, what you are carrying, and what needs to be reset before you push again. And doing so while never breaking stride as a mother.
If you know me, you know I find great joy in supporting minority-owned businesses as much as I can because, well, I’m a minority and I understand how dire the need for support is to survive, let alone thrive. I have no intention to undermine anyone else’s experience, but in my Eva Marcille voice (when Gayle recently asked about her thoughts on the Netflix Top Model docuseries), “I’ve lived my experience” with Hanifa. On Friday, November 27th, 2020, at 9:02 pm, I emailed customer service and asked, “Can I please switch size from xs to xxs in my order of the Olivia Maxi dress?” At 9:23pm, I got a response, “Hi Amyre, Thank you for your email. Your order has been updated as requested. If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know. Best,…”
I still have, love, and plan to continue wearing all of my pieces purchased from Hanifa (except maybe the turquoise Olivia dress, because why in the world did I ask for that XXS?! My hips won’t allow it now. Anifa, when you get back, can I special order a small, please?).
That’s also the point of this post. To tell her thank you for making clothes that have made me feel as beautiful, if not stunningly more, as any sustainably funded luxury brand. And yes, this is coming from a girl who’s last blog post was a whole year ago because I had to… pause.
Anyway, that’s my two cents.
Hanifa, I’ll be here when you’re ready. Take care.
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