Sneak Peek
Naomi Tamaëla
The Air Jordan I has evolved into a style icon of the community, a mark of inclusivity. To celebrate the release of the Women's Air Jordan I High OG Fearless, we wanted to speak to the new generation of aspiring individuals. We met up with 22-year-old Naomi Tamaëla, a familiar face within the community of female streetwear pillar Maha Amsterdam. We spoke to her about how Maha accelerates an evolution in sneaker culture and her own fearlessness that brought her to where she is today.
Naomi was born and raised in a small village in the rural parts of The Netherlands. At the age of fifteen she started to feel like she didn’t belong. Now a few years and some hard work later, she is the face of Maha as she models for their brand campaigns and runs the progressive Amsterdam-based store on the Vijzelstraat. “Where I grew up I was never really accepted because of the color of my skin and the way I dressed. I decided to move to Amsterdam, but without a real plan it proved to be tough. There were some opportunities, for instance with a modelling agency, but then I turned out to be just a centimeter too short. I ended up picking up a new study. Then when I was asked to do a shoot for Maha, I loved their vibe so much, so I decided to take a chance and asked if they could give me a job. And here I am. Being fearless is sometimes really about taking a leap of faith and just going for it.”
“I tend to look at heroes within our own community. I watch my peers for inspiration. There are more and more fearless women around who are stepping up and changing the game, that’s dope.”
An important reason for Naomi to choose Amsterdam as her new home is because of its diversity. Something that Maha has been playing an important role in when it comes to streetwear. Rewind back to 2015, the streetwear industry was in a different place where the female offering was scarce, so most women would browse men’s wear. Founders Saskia van Hofwegen and Dian Iskandar recognized the need for at least an equal offering, so they decided to open Maha. Since then, they’ve grown into one of the most successful female-focused streetwear retailers in Europe. “It’s really getting better, brands are trying harder to improve equality within streetwear offering. But we need to continue building the community. Not just by selling clothing and sneakers for women, but also by involving people in our culture through talks, events and collaborations.”
“We want to bridge the gap for both men and women. Take for example these shiny AJI, I'd rock them with something fancy to special occasions, but so could a guy. You should want to stand out.”