Mochi, one of my favorite regional brands and created by one of my good friends, Ayah Tabari, recently launched the Africa collection and I must say, I am obsessed, and not because she is a friend, but because every Mochi collection has been successful and strong. I love the fact that you really feel a place’s heritage with each collection she launches. The tribal prints and colors in the Africa collection makes this perfect for the summer. Also, I really loved that the campaign was shot in Kenya. I’m excited to share that Myfashdiary.com is the exclusive online publication to receive the campaign images. I also sat down and spoke to Ayah, the brand’s Creative Director, about the inspiration behind the collection, why it’s so personal, and who she expects to see wearing the collection.

How do you come about choosing the next destination’s collection?
It’s all about the embroidery and the journey I am on in my life at the time, sometimes it takes longer to choose a destination, but in this case I had planned it for a long time and knew from the moment I first visited Africa that I wanted to use the continent’s amazing talent in my work.

Why Africa?
Africa is a continent which is very close to my heart as I got married there a year and a half ago and have wanted to go back ever since. What drew me to Kenya in particular was the Masai tribes and their talented artisan work. The beaded embroidery is the foundation of my new collection.

What inspired the Africa collection?
I was inspired while getting married in Cape Town. In the week leading up to the wedding, I explored loads of markets, made friends with the locals, and a small tribe made me the most beautiful choker I had ever seen. This was one of the foundations of the collection and led me to explore the beaded embroidery tradition more.

Why did you choose to do the campaign in Nairobi?
I fell in love with Giraffe Manor which is part of The Safari Collection and also really wanted an element of wildlife in this campaign. The beaded embroidery from the collection is also done by the Masai Tribes in Kenya so we wanted to make sure we kept the whole production for the campaign very local to continue to support the communities

What was the inspiration of the shoot?
Africa and its fresh air, beautiful surroundings and heart warming community life.

Which celebrities do you hope to see the collection on?
I would love to see it on Kendall Jenner, Leandra Medine of Man Repeller and Alexa Chung – those are my top three!

Lastly, you wear Mochi the best! How will you be styling the collection?
The great thing about the African collection is that it is so versatile you can dress it up and dress it down! If I am wearing it in the day I will wear the looks with gladiator sandals or maybe a Superga sneaker, and then in the evening wear it with a delicate heel. For this collection I have also added some plain denim pieces to the mix, so I have a feeling I am just going to be wearing Mochi all summer long!