Ahneva Ahneva-QAA Collections
Queen Ahneva Ahneva has been creating cultural couture in the Leimert Park area of Los Angeles for more than 10 years. After traveling around the globe, gathering inspiration from a variety of cultures, Ahneva is launching her collection for retail, called QAA Collections.
“I’ve been doing couture and now I’m breaking into the ready-to-wear market, developing a line for small boutiques and specialty shops,” she said. “I can’t limit myself to couture, but I’ll still keep my art in it. I don’t want to make millions and millions of units.”
Ahneva said she wanted to maintain the individuality of each piece and felt she could only do that by keeping the volume under 500 pieces.
Her couture designs featured cobra and zebra patterns in metallic gold, on denim and faux fur, that were “artsy and exciting.”
The new collection is denim-focused, with metallic mud cloth and a variety of hand-woven cloths in a variety of cuts and shapes for jackets and slacks. The collection is called “cultural couture,” because it uses only handcrafted fabrics from all over the world.
“Handcrafted fabrics are becoming extinct, so more designers are trying to use them to keep them alive,” Ahneva said. “I only use hand-woven, hand-painted or any fabric that has handcraft.”
Ahneva has been a participant in the fashion show at the Black Business Expo in Los Angeles for seven years.
The QAA Collection was previewed at a launch party in September, presented by the French Consulate General. “France is well-known for its fashions and perfume and beauty,” said Ahneva.
Ahneva said that the first few pieces of the collection will be available for December delivery, and the line will have a full launch for Spring 2003.
For more information, call (323) 291-2535. —Darryl James
