Chakkana Speaks On Her Sharkkini x Puma Takeover Notting Hill Carnival with An Iconic T-Shirt for The Community

Hailing in from Bradford, Sharkkini's Creative Director and Designer has found the heartbeat of her work to be community driven and female empowered. As London’s biggest street party, Notting Hill Carnival sets the stage for her pre-carnival celebration in White City - where we sat down at one of West London’s iconic Windrush landmarks.

The pop-up was an opportunity for friends and family of Puma and Sharkkini to preview the 2025 carnival tee collaboration and pair the look with the iconic H-Street Jamaica models available to style and personalise on the day. The space was covered in black, yellow and green branding while communities from both parties combined fashion and music in the warm up to the big weekend. This was an opportunity for the British-Carribean designer to express her heritage and creative force as she celebrated a beautiful campaign of culture and design.

The streetwear brand Sharkkini’s founder, Chakkana Pryce talks to New Wave on her newest collaboration with lifestyle giant, Puma.

It all started with carnival tees 3 years ago and as the newest drop is bigger than both that came before, the inspiration and motive stays the same. Chakkana began designing the garment for friends to wear at carnival but after gaining traction from more than just her inner circle, the demand grew and the following soon became cult.

The Sharkkini brand evolved from personal projects to a significant focus in 2022, aiming to fill representation gaps from a lack of relatability and recognition as a young creative on sets of other projects and working at various brands. "Sometimes when you are the only woman, the only black woman in the room, you are the only one who thinks about it". Puma felt like the most obvious partner for Sharkinni to collaborate on the shared-roots project. Speaking on the joint creative venture the founder explains, "As a brand, it’s important that I am represented authentically and working with people that trust my vision and allow me to be creative in the way I want to be.” 

Yoo Ahn of Ambush, Sofia Prantera of Aries and the many icons from Aaliyah to Missy, pave the path in the States. But how many names are gaining recognition on UK soil among the hundreds of streetwear brands? Chakkana’s frustrations with fits, sizing and lack of understanding for female measurements in core streetwear products like tracksuits pushed her ideas into practice. She explained her confusion as the need for this gap in the market felt so obvious. Male-founded company’s are still lack the understanding of the brand’s need for female presence to strengthen their vision. “How, when we contribute so much to the culture?”

@Sharkinni x @Pumauk

“Puma really allowed me to take the lead on the creative direction of the campaign, even the way that the logo is incorporated into the t-shirt. My brand is a creative output and the community that comes with it, the representation… that’s the most important part.”

It’s visibly clear from Sharkkini’s campaigns that women are the force behind the brand. From cast call outs on social media to ensure that individual characters are selected and seen, Chakkana’s mission is to promote the icons that have historically impacted streetwear. 

Check out the campaign below.