Born to Somali parents and raised in both Somalia and Washington, D.C., identical twins Ayaan and Idyl Mohallim are anything but ordinary. Having fled Somalia at the age of nine to escape the country’s civil war, the twins completed their college education; Ayaan at University of Michigan and Idyl at Boston University, before making the bold move to Manhattan where they aimed to stand out from the rest in the world of fashion and design. They always shared an interest for fashion. Experiencing the industry from the ground up through careful study and practice, they slowly crafted their talent in their studio with only distant dreams of launching a collection. They each had worked in fashion (Idyl at Jill Stuart and Ayaan at Betsey Johnson), and used that experience to learn the industry and, eventually, start their own line. In 2008 the time had come to stand on their own four legs.
On November 1, 2008, the Mohallim sisters took their first step together, launching a new brand, Mataano (ma-taa-no), meaning “twins” in Somali, and launched their premier Spring 2009 collection in New York City featuring a boutique preview of ten dresses. Not long after that they got a call from Oprah. The twins recently appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show featuring the Olsen twins and young millionaire moguls. Paralleling their success with the Olsen sisters, Oprah lauded the duo for their inspiring story and much deserved success, and gave them the national credibility that will undoubtedly launch Mataano as an emerging brand with a rich cultural heritage.
They have a strong presence in the internet. They have videos documenting our photo-shoots on youtube, and they blog. The twins say that they are greatly influenced by their Somalian heritage; growing up and being surrounded by beautiful women wearing colorful dresses. Africans love color and you can see how that influenced their Spring 2009 designs.
Their advice and recipe for success is “never give up your dream and be ready to really work hard.”
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