mall anomaly views style as a global experience that resonates across people and places. To further this notion, the brand’s first drop sets its epic backstory to the scenery of the fast-paced bustle of Liberia’s Waterside Market, recreating the aesthetic to showcase the brand's official introduction to the world.
Hailing from New York City with deep roots planted in West Africa as a 2nd generation Liberian American, the brand’s designer and creative director, Michael Artis sees the importance of representation and the celebration of cultural confluence. Take for example, the first drop imagines New York Rap Legend and Fashion Icon Lil’ Kim on unisex graphic t-shirts as a Saint or Deity as the product’s name would imply. Taking interpolations from NYC and its golden era of rap music and setting it onto the gritty backdrop of West Pointe, Liberia’s Waterside Market in the country’s capital of Monrovia, further exemplifies the cross pollination of cultures seen through the eyes of the brand’s creative director.
The brand’s name derives from the creative director’s first voyage home to Liberia in 2018. “I vividly recall walking through the shops at Waterside Market in West Pointe and as busy as it was, we were the center of attention in the moment. I guess it was the style of dress, tattoos, etc. that othered us immediately. We were happy at home but at times felt like anomalies in this space." This gave life to the brand's name.