Anifa Mvuemba

Anifa Mvuemba (born 1990 or 1991) is a Kenyan-born American fashion designer of Congolese descent best known as the founder of womenswear brand Hanifa.

Early life Anifa Mvuemba was born in Nairobi, Kenya to parents of Congolese origin and immigrated with her family to the United States at age three, in 1993. She is one of seven children. Mvuemba was first exposed to fashion by watching her mother get dressed every morning. In 2005, her brother was murdered in Maryland. She attended Gaithersburg High School and then Morgan State University, where she studied fashion merchandising. She later dropped out of college and quit her retail job at Nordstrom, citing a rough transition to adulthood as the cause. In 2021, her debut in-person fashion show "Hanifa Dream" was held at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. That same year, she was named as an awardee of the annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, as well as the recipient of InStyle's Future of Fashion Award. In 2022, two of Mvuemba's designs were included in "Those Who Dress Better", a fashion exhibit curated by Black Fashion Fair and the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. In August of that year, she confronted fast fashion brand Fashion Nova for copying the design of her Jax Knit Gown, which resulted in the removal of Fashion Nova's version from their website. In 2023, Hanifa debuted its first bridal collection in Middleburg, Virginia.

Mvuemba's garments have been worn by celebrities such as Beyoncé, Gabrielle Union, Ashley Graham, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bella Hadid, Lizzo, Padma Lakshmi, Fantasia, Kylie Jenner, and Ciara. She additionally designed Savannah James' look for the 2025 Met Gala.

Personal life Mvuemba is based in Washington, D.C. She has one child, a daughter born in 2023.