How Black Woman-Owned Activewear Company AQUA Waterproof Headwear Is Creating Change

Khadijah Robinson is revolutionizing activewear for Black women with her inspired fashion designs. As Robinson told CBS News Philadelphia, her choice to create a line of headwraps and turbans was born out of frustration.

“Just making life decisions around not wanting to get your hair wet is frustrating because we do spend so much time and money on our hair,” Robinson explained. “We don’t want to have to run from the rain, sit out at waterparks and pools. Based on that frustration alone I said there has to be a better way to do this.”

With this in mind, Robinson began to work on designs in 2014. However, it was not until 2021 that Robinson realized that she had actually created something special.

Robinson’s brand, AQUA Waterproof Headwear, has been featured on QVC and Empower Global, an e-commerce platform created by Sean “Diddy” Combs. According to CBS, Robinson is also in talks with Target. Robinson takes great pride in being a Black woman in business, “It means so much to be a Black woman-owned business,” Robinson told CBS. “From a young child, I knew I wanted to do something to motivate people, to uplift the community, to create jobs.”

Those co-signs have not yet translated into a significant digital footprint, but getting a placement in Target’s Black Beyond Measure program, which allows customers to see Black-owned or -founded products that the store carries in a central location will certainly help Robinson achieve greater visibility of her product.

AQUA does, however, have a sizable audience on Facebook, where they enjoy 829 followers and 771 likes, along with five 5-star reviews of various products. Likewise, the company’s Instagram has over 2,000 followers and emphasizes that the brand has been covered by outlets such as NBC, CBS, QVC, and HSN.

Robinson’s message to other aspiring business owners is one of hope, as she told CBS, “It is possible. You can have a dream. You can have an idea and you can bring it to fruition.”