In this focus on “Lambahoany”, we meet Samira Mihaja MOUMINI, founder of 3 Ladies Pirates, and learn more about the brand.

Lambahoany: Samira explains.

A Lambahoany is simply put a traditional Malagasy fabric panel, looking a bit like Tanzanian and Comorian “kanga”. However, unlike “kanga”, a lambahoany displays less repetitive pattern and conveys a message or a Malagasy proverb. The image of a typical Malagasy life scene is printed on the bright-coloured panel made of cotton and processed by COTONA.

Lambahoany worn by Malagasy women, tied at the waist (Copyright: Henintsoa Rafalia)

Wearing a lambahoany is the Malagasy way of dressing up for fancy and family events: weddings, family visits, or funerals. It is a unisex attire. We can choose to tie it at the waist or around the chest. We can veil it to protect ourselves from the burning sun of the coasts, and that is why it is made of comfortable fabric like cotton.

The lambahoany is not worn only in Madagascar; our diaspora loves it a lot. A way for them to reconnect with the Malagasy culture!

Nevertheless, beyond its traditional purpose, women wear a lambahoany as a pareo on the beach. We can use a panel to cover our car seats or our sofa pillows, or simply as a wall deco.

3 Ladies Pirates: the pioneer of lambahoany-based high-end fashion.

Samira, “Chief Captain” of 3 Ladies Pirates recalls how the adventure started in 2013 in Antsiranana with two friends from JCI (Junior Chamber International). Their first business move was the resale of free zones products. Later they started copying fashion designs found on the internet, until they realized it was a non-viable and non-sustainable idea. 3 Ladies Pirates was born in 2015. It is the first fashion brand of high-end ready-to-wear using lambahoany in its items tailored for men and women: shirts, skirts, jackets, dresses, kimonos, or bombers.

Today Samira works with three independent and motivated seamstresses who have their own sewing studios. Before Covid-19, 3 Ladies Pirates dealt with an average of 15 orders a month.

3 Ladies Pirates is a fully digital fashion brand which sells its items only on social media: Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Later, customers will be able to buy items directly from their website.

A brand tailored for the international market.

At the very beginning, Samira and her colleagues thought of using only cotton, “soga”, or even wax. Even though 3 Ladies Pirates uses some “landy” from time to time, they already envisioned their brand would go international, hence lambahoany sounded more appropriate. Lambahoany items would look more wonderful and best represent Madagascar in online stores in Africa, Europe, Asia, and America.

3 Ladies Ladies sells local, but its prices are not that “local-friendly”. Most of their customers are senior executives, expatriates and tourists who want to take a piece of Madagascar with them. 3 Ladies Pirates’ slogan “Bring out the Malagasy that lies in you” suggests whoever wants to wear their products can, regardless of their nationality. Since the Covid outbreak, the company has received huge orders from the diaspora in Europe and Africa.

Ethical brand

3 Ladies Pirates is an ethical brand and does not hold stocks. Items are made on demand via social media and are delivered within three weeks, depending on the customer’s location. At the local level, the brand works with MBike bicycle delivery service. To better serve international customers and to speed up deliveries, 3 Ladies Pirates uses the postal system for local deliveries outside Antananarivo and abroad and has started using DHL International’s services since June for international deliveries. This is to give customers options in terms of delivery time and costs.

Besides, Samira offers collections as well from time to time, such as BASIA (or “star”), a women-only collection launched earlier this year.

Powersuit Kamala, BASIA collection (Copyright: Daniel Rabemazava)

Today, the ethical side of 3 Ladies Pirates’ activity makes it stand out from other new players who have followed the wave. The brand’s focus is on packaging (ban of plastic bag, paper or cardboard packaging only), on less polluting delivery, on the quality of the fabric used (made in Madagascar by COTONA). It is important to recall that 3 Ladies Pirates is a high-end ready-to-wear brand, not a high fashion company though.

It is important to note that when Samira launched the BASIA collection, she worked with three female models: Warda, Laurence and Dina who do not necessarily have the morphology of a typical slim, young, and tall model with a flat belly.

“Women should feel comfortable regardless of how their morphology is. Women are highly valued by our brand.” – Samira Mihaja MOUMINI

The right attire for the right event

Samira gives an example of a couple preparing for the big day. She would draw and propose a model appropriately designed for the probable weather on the event date and the body part the client would like to highlight.

Nevertheless, recently, 3 Ladies Pirates has significantly reduced the volume of lambahoany used for an item in order to offer something not-too-much formal that someone could wear everyday.

3 Ladies Pirates’ next move

Today, 3 Ladies Pirates is working on having its items on sale in African online stores and envisions to list the brand among the must-have brands in Africa.

This year’s focus is on communication and networking. Some collaboration with Maro Madagascar is also ongoing. Fashion addicts will have to stay patient for one or two more years to see another collection come out. “Creating a new collection takes a lot of time and research”, Samira explains.

Interview by Kenny Raharison