Hanimann's

Africa as a fashion mecca is still largely undiscovered in our country. Not many trendsetters from the northern hemisphere dare to go there because there is war in certain countries. But Africa is huge and fundamentally has an open heart that wants to captivate people with its indescribably many, moving cultural traditions. This is how fashion with soul and global potential is created, for which the Zurich fashion agency Hanimanns wants to throw the doors wide open.

Urban, colorful, culturally rich clothes from West Africa are sold here by Melanie Hanimann. She comes from a marketing background and a few years ago fell in love with Ghana, where she also lives part-time. This passionate love gave rise to the idea of ​​bringing African fashion designers and their creations to Europe. As an equal partnership, they realize ambitious fashion goals and thus make the leap to becoming a cultural link. The fashion gap between the second largest continent and us, the second smallest, has become smaller because Melanie's general philosophy of "just do it" proved to be a success after the first step, when she bought from a convincing designer and brought his creations to a buyer here. Welcome African Fashion - the biggest risk would have been not to have taken one.

THREE QUESTIONS FOR HANIMANNS:

Who are you?

I am Melanie Hanimann, half Swiss, half Taiwanese. I traveled to Ghana as a volunteer in 2011 and fell in love with the culture. In 2018 I founded the agency HANIMANNS. With Hanimanns I want to open the door to success for talented designers from Ghana. I am brave, naive and like to take life with a large portion of humor.

What inspires you?

Differences. I am inspired by people who think differently, cultures that tick differently, processes that function differently. Recognizing and understanding differences allows you to approach things differently. Only when you recognize the difference do you get to know yourself better. That is a great inspiration for creativity and everyday life.

What is your favorite object and accompanies you every day?

The honest answer would probably be my cell phone. Without it I would be lost and so it is automatically my favorite object. It contains everything in my life.
But actually a pencil and a sheet of paper are some of my favorite objects. I find the pencil a fascinating object. Simple in design, it is made of sustainable material, handy and useful. Even though I always have my cell phone with me, I often use paper and pencil to get started. I think many brilliant ideas start with a pencil and a sheet of paper.

Hannimann's
Melanie Hannimann
Brunnenhofstrasse 9
CH-8057 Zurich
Switzerland
Email: melanie@hannimanns.com