Robin Shumays

Robin Shumays is a multi-talented artist and designer based in Queens, N.Y. She’s the creative force behind the dazzling and edgy fashion brand hennaflower, which has made its mark on NYC runways during shows for Harlem Fashion Week and Africa Fashion Week, among others.

Robin’s creativity doesn’t stop at fashion; she is currently studying classic burlesque, acting, and singing in order to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming the ultimate theater kid. She is also a co-founder and dancer with Zikrayat, an Arabic Music and Dance Ensemble that has performed at venues such as Lincoln Center and Brooklyn Museum. In the world of day jobs, she has worked in web development, graphic design, social media strategy, and is currently a User Experience Engineer at Guardian Life.

A die-hard Prince fan since 1984, Robin is proud to have presented several papers on his work over the last few years. In 2021, she presented “Punk, Paisleys and Polkadots” at the 78-88: Prince, The First Decade: Interdisciplinary Conference. In 2022 and 2023 she presented “Bedlah Bedlam: An Exploration of Orientalist Fantasy and Fashion Via the Lens of Prince Rogers Nelson” and “Like a (Nasty) Girl Group” at the #SexyMF30 and #TripleThreat40 symposia. She produces and co-hosts a webinar podcast on Prince called The Purple Paradigm with her bestie, Dr. Mauri De Govia. Once upon a time, Robin even held a short-lived dream job as an administrative assistant at Paisley Park Music (Paisley’s short-lived music publishing wing).

Of all of her varied career and creative pursuits, Robin’s most treasured role is that of a mother to a very sweet and talented teen daughter.