I AM HAWA WHO.
A model, a storyteller, and a soul unafraid of stories.
I was born in Ghana, raised in New York City, and now rooted in Pittsburgh - but I live beyond borders.
In every corner of my work, I carry heritage, softness, and strength. From runways to bookstores, from poetry readings to global platforms, I show up as myself: unfiltered, intentional, and unforgettable.
I am a model, a storyteller, and a soul unafraid of stories.
I am a writer and storyteller devoted to naming what we never learn to say out loud.
My work centers on embracing inherited emotional struggle, especially around love, worth, and safety. The ways we learn to brace ourselves. The ways we confuse struggle with depth. The ways we adapt to be loved.
I don't write to motivate people into becoming someone new.
I write to help them understand who they already are.
When people encounter my work, they often tell me they feel relief.
Not because something was fixed - but because something was finally recognized. A memory. A feeling. A pattern that suddenly makes sense.
That recognition is powerful. It softens. It releases shame. It creates space for gentler ways of being and being loved.
Through poetry, reflection, and story, I offer language for the quiet truths we carry - and an invitation to return to ourselves with more grace.
This work is not about perfection.
It's about remembrance.
A LIFE
IN MOTION.
Before the books and the campaigns, I was a quiet girl watching the world - listening more than I spoke, observing beauty in contrast.
That perspective became my superpower.
From Zara to Vogue to Harper's Bazaar, from spoken word to storytelling and global creative platforms, my journey has continued to move between worlds - fashion and literature, image and language, presence and expression.
WHY
“HAWA WHO”?
I chose the name Hawa because growing up, I was often seen as an “answer of my own.”
“Who” became both a question and an answer.
Hawa Who is not a mystery to solve.
It's an invitation to experience.
Hawa Who
is an invitation.
THE
SPEAKER.
As a speaker and spoken word artist, I share stories that stay.
I TREAT EVERY ROOM
LIKE IT'S A TEDX STAGE.
THE CREATIVE
DIRECTOR.
I also run Hawa Who Shop - a fashion brand inspired by Casablanca, Pucci, and the poetry of the everyday.
Every piece is designed to be worn with feeling.
This is more than fashion.
It's a language of comfort and cool.
ONE LIFE. MANY EXPRESSIONS.
Different forms. Different rooms. Different ways of being seen. But underneath it all, there is one life - expressed through story, presence, and the freedom to create.
STORY.
The stories I write, share, and carry — the ones that give language to what we feel but don't always know how to say.
PRESENCE.
The way I enter a room, inhabit an image, hold a conversation, and remain fully myself within the moment.
EXPRESSION.
Fashion, poetry, speaking, visual work, and every creative language that allows an idea to become something felt.
IDENTITY.
Not a single title or category, but the freedom to exist across them — without having to choose just one.
AUTHOR · MODEL · SPEAKER · CREATIVE DIRECTOR
ONE VOICE. MANY WAYS TO BE HEARD.
LET'S CREATE SOMETHING UNFORGETTABLE.
Whether you're a brand, a magazine, a festival, or a global platform - if your vision is aligned with mine, I'd love to collaborate.
Let's create something unforgettable.