Akua Shabaka, along with her mother, Rebecca Henry, established House of Aama in 2015. Akua and her mother are world builders and weavers of visual stories. They create stunning, often ethereal collections like Salt Water, that introduced a fictional Black resort called Camp Aama, and like Sun Records, inspired by Akua’s father’s life. House of Aama is the output of Akua digging into her past (culture, identity, heritage) and sitting in her present. The brand and the pieces become a form of spiritual expression that add to the public archive. Hear how Akua and her mother quickly grew their personal project into an in-demand business. You’ll be as in awe as we were.

Akua Shabaka, along with her mother, Rebecca Henry, established House of Aama in 2015. Akua and her mother are world builders and weavers of visual stories. They create stunning, often ethereal collections like Salt Water, that introduced a fictional Black resort called Camp Aama, and like Sun Records, inspired by Akua&rsquo;s father&rsquo;s life. House of Aama is the output of Akua digging into her past (culture, identity, heritage) and sitting in her present. The brand and the pieces become a form of spiritual expression that add to the public archive. Hear how Akua and her mother quickly grew their personal project into an in-demand business. You&rsquo;ll be as in awe as we were.

Meet the brands using style to preserve culture, serve community, honor identity – and evolve our understanding of the style-status-quo. Hosted by Lola Catero and Frankie Ikwuazom.

Meet the brands using style to preserve culture, serve community, honor identity &ndash; and evolve our understanding of the style-status-quo. Hosted by Lola Catero and Frankie Ikwuazom.

STYLE AS IDENTITY

Style As Identity

ANCESTRY | House of Aama: Ancestral memory as a public experience

Aziza-Abdullah Nicole approaches jewelry as art, investment, memory, and inheritance.

Through her namesake brand, Aziza, she creates fine jewelry, engagement rings and grillz (or what she calls oral sculptures). Her practice brings together gemology, CAD, lost wax, and metalsmithing through a perspective shaped by family, Black culture, and craftsmanship.

In this episode of Style as Identity, we explore why Aziza deliberately pursued such a wide range of training, and how that accumulated knowledge helped her develop her design language, earn clients’ trust, and build the fine-jewelry career she envisioned. She shares how she discerns when a piece calls for exacting precision versus when it benefits from the evidence of the hand.

We also explore the craft and business of oral sculptures: teaching herself to make grillz during the pandemic, designing for the unique “canvas” of each person’s teeth, navigating fittings and materials, and pricing custom work that demands technical skill and coveted design style.

Beyond the jewelry itself, Aziza offers an honest look at what it takes to sustain an independent creative business. We discuss the importance of building multiple revenue streams, why mastering money management is essential to sustaining a creative practice, and how she has built both into her own career.

Aziza-Abdullah Nicole approaches jewelry as art, investment, memory, and inheritance.
Through her namesake brand, Aziza, she creates fine jewelry, engagement rings and grillz (or what she calls oral sculptures). Her practice brings together gemology, CAD, lost wax, and metalsmithing through a perspective shaped by family, Black culture, and craftsmanship.
In this episode of Style as Identity, we explore why Aziza deliberately pursued such a wide range of training, and how that accumulated knowledge helped her develop her design language, earn clients&rsquo; trust, and build the fine-jewelry career she envisioned. She shares how she discerns when a piece calls for exacting precision versus when it benefits from the evidence of the hand.
We also explore the craft and business of oral sculptures: teaching herself to make grillz during the pandemic, designing for the unique &ldquo;canvas&rdquo; of each person&rsquo;s teeth, navigating fittings and materials, and pricing custom work that demands technical skill and coveted design style.
Beyond the jewelry itself, Aziza offers an honest look at what it takes to sustain an independent creative business. We discuss the importance of building multiple revenue streams, why mastering money management is essential to sustaining a creative practice, and how she has built both into her own career.

Custom | Aziza: Turning Teeth into a Canvas

Marker 01

Filippo Sorcinelli's work spans sacred vestments, fragrance, music, photography, and art. Yet across every practice, a common thread emerges: creating beauty in service of another person.

Through Atelier Lavs, Filippo has designed sacred vestments for Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV, and clergy around the world. Through UNUM, his fragrance house, he creates scents that move between memory, ritual, sensuality, faith, and personal freedom. Whether expressed through fabric, fragrance, sound, or image, his work is ultimately about helping others feel known.

In this episode of Style as Identity, Filippo Sorcinelli and Lola Catero discuss sacred vestments, Catholicism, personal identity, freedom, contradiction, beauty, and the role of service in creative work. Explore how a practicing Catholic and openly gay artist navigates faith and selfhood, why beauty is experienced through the body before it is understood by the mind, and how creation can become a language for belonging.

Hear about what it’s actually like to design for the Vatican, his approach to designing - and pricing - custom vestments and whether or not he meets directly with the Pope.

Like and subscribe to Style as Identity for conversations with the founders evolving the style-status-quo and building fashion businesses within their vision, values, and vibe.

 

Filippo Sorcinelli's work spans sacred vestments, fragrance, music, photography, and art. Yet across every practice, a common thread emerges: creating beauty in service of another person.
Through Atelier Lavs, Filippo has designed sacred vestments for Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV, and clergy around the world. Through UNUM, his fragrance house, he creates scents that move between memory, ritual, sensuality, faith, and personal freedom. Whether expressed through fabric, fragrance, sound, or image, his work is ultimately about helping others feel known.
In this episode of Style as Identity, Filippo Sorcinelli and Lola Catero discuss sacred vestments, Catholicism, personal identity, freedom, contradiction, beauty, and the role of service in creative work. Explore how a practicing Catholic and openly gay artist navigates faith and selfhood, why beauty is experienced through the body before it is understood by the mind, and how creation can become a language for belonging.
Hear about what it&rsquo;s actually like to design for the Vatican, his approach to designing - and pricing - custom vestments and whether or not he meets directly with the Pope.
Like and subscribe to Style as Identity for conversations with the founders evolving the style-status-quo and building fashion businesses within their vision, values, and vibe.
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Custom | Filippo Sorcinelli: Vestments of the Vatican

"This thing doesn't exist yet, but I already know it matters."

That's what the custom clientele of Studio Maçon are saying when they commission Hannah Woodard to create one of her brass totems. Each object is shaped by both Hannah and the customer's desire for it to come into being, giving it a story before it ever has a form.

In this episode of Style as Identity, Hannah Woodard and Lola Catero discuss emotional functionality, the role of custom work in her business, and what clients seek when commissioning a deeply personal object. We explore how Studio Maçon creates pieces that serve an emotional purpose today while already standing as future heirlooms.

We also discuss the customer insight that helped Studio Maçon achieve 3x returns on paid media, and why understanding what customers are truly buying can transform both product development and marketing.

Like and subscribe to Style as Identity for conversations with the founders evolving the style-status-quo and building fashion businesses within their vision, values, and vibe.

"This thing doesn't exist yet, but I already know it matters." That's what the custom clientele of Studio Ma&ccedil;on are saying when they commission Hannah Woodard to create one of her brass totems. Each object is shaped by both Hannah and the customer's desire for it to come into being, giving it a story before it ever has a form. In this episode of Style as Identity, Hannah Woodard and Lola Catero discuss emotional functionality, the role of custom work in her business, and what clients seek when commissioning a deeply personal object. We explore how Studio Ma&ccedil;on creates pieces that serve an emotional purpose today while already standing as future heirlooms. We also discuss the customer insight that helped Studio Ma&ccedil;on achieve 3x returns on paid media, and why understanding what customers are truly buying can transform both product development and marketing. Like and subscribe to Style as Identity for conversations with the founders evolving the style-status-quo and building fashion businesses within their vision, values, and vibe.

ANCESTRY | House of Aama: Ancestral memory as a public experience

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