What better way to start my induction into TheVine by paying homage to the hottest MAMA of them all. Gabriella A. Davi-Khorasanee, the beauty and brains behind streetwear brand MAMA.

At a time when street fashion was ruled by images of naked ladies and misogynistic messages, the greater sex hit back in the classiest and brashest way they knew how.

One of the first to come on hard was MAMA. This label threw my love of dressing like a hip hop ladyboy (ala Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopez) into turmoil, with its themes of Chola-loca chic and immense LA/San Fran pride.

MAMA takes the massive honour of being the first female brand that whipped my pussy into frenzy, in turn determining my quest to be, as Gab's motto suggested ‘Always A Lady’. Oh, my own mama would be so proud!

I caught up with my now good friend, inspiration and global MAMA Gabriella recently via the wonders of cyberspace to let her spread knowledge on just why MAMA was oh so necessary!

Hey Gabriella, give us a brief timeline history into MAMA Clothing to get all TheVine readers up to date.
Hi Mafia!  I started Mama 4 years ago - I started it because I felt there was a void of women’s t-shirts in the creative lifestyle category while there were many options for the guys.  Back then, most of the available styles for women usually featured men’s graphics slapped on women’s tees.  I wanted to rep for the ladies and in the 4 years that I’ve been working on Mama, I’ve had the pleasure of working with adidas, New Era Cap, Juicy Cosmetics, Bijules NYC and Montana Colors.  The motto of Mama is “Always a Lady” and the way that translates to my design is by creating pieces that are feminine, yet not too girly.  Mama isn’t about being one of the boys.  Mama is about being a lady among girls and boys and always holding your head up high.

The Mi Vida Loca range rewinds time back to the inception of your brand, utilising your intense love of airbrushed nails, big hair and even bigger doorknockers! Why was it the time right to launch the Mi Vida Loca range?
Wow, you’ve been paying attention!  You’re right, Mi Vida Loca is a theme that I explored in one of my earliest collections.  It’s a look that I love and it’s always been a bit of an undercurrent in all of my collections – it’s like the foundation of the brand.  I re-visited the theme in full again for my Winter collection because my production capabilities had come a long way from the time I started the brand so I wanted to do it again, but better.  The first time around I was only able to produce t-shirts, but this time around I was able to do t-shirts and cut and sew, hats, etc.

You started your company as a straight T-shirt brand and killed it immediately in the street wear scene that was, up until then, geared predominantly towards the males. How important was it for you to eventually branch out into cut and sew with a full collection and how did you continue to pay homage to the one piece of clothing that kick started the whole label, the T-shirt?
My goal from the brands inception was to create a full collection – I started with t-shirts for two reasons:  First, I always wear t-shirts and I felt like there wasn’t anything cool for the ladies.  Second, I thought starting with t-shirts was an easier, less expensive way of establishing some roots as a brand.  I don’t have any formal training and have been winging it from day one so I wanted to ease into it since I knew there would be a learning curve.  Though the product offering has expanded, the t-shirt always plays a huge role in our collections and is usually about half of the Mama product offering.  Mama will always offer t-shirts – I’m sentimental that way and it’s a big part of our business so I wouldn’t turn my back on ‘em, no matter how fancy we get.

What is your general impression of the female T-shirt scene right now? Can it continue to thrive in a game where female designers dream of more luxurious positions in fashion, turning street into a more high-end feel?
I think it’s wonderful that the scene is growing and that there are more options for women today.  Many of the women are adding a high-end sensibility that I love.  They’re doing a great job of marrying the love of high-end with the reality of casual, affordable dress.  That said, I don’t think t-shirts are going anywhere.  Women have a lot more variety and options when it comes to fashion and for every girl who likes her high-end luxuries, there’s a girl who likes to keep things more laid back.

My personal fave in the collection has to be the Raiders inspired “Real Women Wear Black” tee. It floats my boat on so many levels, from the NFL font, to the fact that I only wear black tees. Where do the light bulb moments come from that guide you to hit at the heartstrings of such a diverse group of women?
Thanks, lady.  The initial inspiration for that tee came from the theme, Mi Vida Loca.  The theme is an exploration of what I call West Coast Americana, the iconic look of the Chola – Cortez and Converse sneakers, Ben Davis pants and overalls, giant black eyeliner, big hair, lots of jewellery and of course, nails did.  One of the motifs of the look is the memory of the LA Raiders so I did my interpretation of a feminised Raiders logo.  One of the mottos of the Raiders team is “Real Men Wear Black.”  I opted to give it a woman’s touch and it pulled at my heartstrings on a personal level as well because I am always in black, so it reaffirmed my personal philosophy.  Last but not least, “NFL” became “MFL” – Mama For Life!

What does the humble T-shirt mean to you?
Such a simple question, but difficult to answer because it means so many things to me.  First, it’s classic comfort.  When I think of getting comfortable, I think of a tee.  It’s classic, because I also think of James Dean, and the way he transformed the white t-shirt from underwear to outerwear.  To this day, my favourite tee is a fresh, plain white tee.  Beyond that, the t-shirt is a bit of a walking billboard for your personal views, political views, personality – just about everything can be expressed on a t-shirt and as far as clothing goes, it’s really unique in that way.  

What will you be rocking come summer time in San Fran ’09?
Haha, actually San Francisco is quite chilly in the summer because of the fog patterns of the Bay Area.  Mark Twain is rumoured to have said, “The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco.”  That said, for the purposes of this question I’ll pretend that San Francisco has normal summer weather.  I live in beater tanks in the summer – black and white ones.  I’m not really a shorts person, and I usually wear skirts for occasions when I get “dolled up” so I’m usually in black lightweight cotton trousers (black or khaki). I wear really basic clothing because I’m really petite and can get lost in intricate pieces so I usually let my accessories do the talking. On my feets, cotton canvas Converse (black), adidas Stan Smith’s (white) or Nike Cortez or Sweet Classics (black).  I hate flip-flops and only wear them on the way home from a pedicure.  If I need to wear a beachy shoe then I wear jelly flats.  You can count on lots of gold jewellery (the bigger the better) and I’m always hunting for a new bag.  One thing I’d also love to get for summer is a retro-inspired swimsuit.  I really love the silhouette of the older suits and I think they’re a lot more flattering.  I always think it’s better to leave a little something to the imagination.

Go ahead and buy MAMA online at karmaloop.com, boundless.com, thegiantpeach.com and 80spurple.com


Art direction: GDK
Photography: Amanda Lopez
Stylist: Liz Baca
Makeup: Jenni Tay
Hair: Kimberly Mejia