IN CONVERSATION WITH HANAA
interview by MARIE-PAULINE CESARI
Numéro Netherlands presents HANAA — the artist formerly known as La Penderie Noire — unveiling her rebirth through a new name, a new sound, and a renewed sense of self. Raised in foster care, HANAA’s story is one of resilience, identity, and creative liberation. Reclaiming her birth name marks more than a change in image; it’s a declaration of independence, a return to authenticity, and the beginning of an era where vulnerability becomes her power. Through her upcoming music and striking new aesthetic, HANAA merges techno, rave, pop, groove, and dubstep into a sound that transcends genre — and redefines who she is, both as an artist and as a woman.
jacket and skirt DIESEL
top AMBUSH
glasses GENTLE MONSTER
shoes COPERNI
earrings VINTAGE
What led you to reclaim your birth name, HANAA, and what does it mean to you now?
Growing up in foster care, I felt disconnected from my roots, from my own story. Reclaiming HANAA, my birth name, is about taking back that control — about finally owning my narrative. It’s about saying, “This is who I am, this is where I come from, and I'm not going to let anyone else define me.” It’s not just a name change; it’s a declaration that I’m ready to step into my true self, without filters or apologies. I’ve always made music from the heart, but now it’s about not hiding behind anything anymore. You don’t need approval to exist — and now I’m taking back control.
corset DILARA FINDIKOGLU
top and short ANN DEMEULEMEESTER
shoes SSHEENA
earrings and necklace ELENA NAJDOVSKA
gloves and tights STYLIST’S OWN
How does this rebirth connect to your roots and personal journey of healing?
It’s showing my real self, without masks. Every track pulls pieces of my past, my wounds, my survival, and turns them into sound. Healing for me doesn’t mean erasing scars; it means making them part of the music. It’s about finding a voice through my wounds, and using that voice to connect with others who have experienced similar struggles.
What did your time as La Penderie Noire teach you, and why was it time to move on?
La Penderie Noire was my battlefield — it pushed me to deconstruct so many things about society, humans, and myself in one of the most hectic industries out there. Starting so young, I wanted everything, whatever the cost. But year after year, I discovered the true face of the industry: if you don’t put yourself in a box, everything will force you to. I don’t want that cage anymore. I’m not better than anyone, but I’m not like everyone else either. And that’s what I want to celebrate now — individuality as resistance.
top LARUICCI
leggings DILARA FINDIKOGLU
shoes COPERNI
What inner shift allowed you to fully embrace this new chapter?
It was about making peace with myself and the constant pressure to perform, to please, to adapt your truth to fit someone else’s box — it eats you alive. You can lose yourself without even noticing. My shift was to dissolve all that noise: the ego, the comparisons, the endless chasing. Now I’m building from a place that feels real — and safe. Music gave me scars, but it also gave me a confidence I never had before. I don’t need anyone’s approval to exist anymore. I just want to make music and be heard.
Your new sound feels both emotional and powerful. How do you find that balance?
I don’t calculate it; it just bursts out. My music is handmade, crafted, alive. When you build something with your own hands, it has a depth of soul that can’t be manufactured. Authenticity is everything to me — and that’s why my music has that raw emotion and power. I only put out what truly encapsulates who I am. Take it or leave it.
jacket and skirt JEANNE FRIOT
top VINTAGE
shoes MARINE SERRE
earrings VINTAGE
You’re blending techno, rave, pop, groove, and dubstep. What drives this genre fusion?
Curiosity. As I said before, I don’t want to limit myself or label my music. Rave gives me the fire, pop gives me the emotion, techno gives me the groove, and dubstep gives me the weight. My new sound is a blend of my influences, reshaped into my own DNA. After many years of trying to discover who I am, I finally know where I’m going. It’s not random — it’s my survival stitched into sound.
jacket and trousers BLUMARINE
glasses GENTLE MONSTER
necklace LA MANSO
gloves SQUILLACE
shoes LARUICCI
Your tracks carry both euphoria and melancholy. Where does that duality come from?
From my past. Growing up in foster care, feeling like my voice didn’t count for so many years, built in me this fire of revenge — this urgency to exist. Having different adults each year deciding for me and my future, people I didn’t even know, left me with no sense of control. When you don’t feel like you’ve existed enough, and everything has been taken away, you instinctively start searching for validation outside yourself because no one ever taught you how to find it inside.
It’s all about learning to live with that constant feeling of missing something, of being “different on paper” than most people. It took me a long time to free myself from this rage and start finding stability in my life. As I healed, my music became less dark, reflecting myself and my growth. In my search for a place on earth, music became both the scream and the healing. That’s why it carries both fire and peace, light and shadow.
jacket and tights MARINE SERRE
glasses STYLIST’S OWN
shoes CASABLANCA
earrings ALAN CROCETTI
rings TANT D’AVENIR
How does your new visual identity mirror who HANAA is today?
La Penderie Noire — meaning “the black wardrobe” — initially felt exciting and alive, but over time became restricting. It no longer represented who I am or how I want to express myself, visually or musically. The all-black aesthetic felt limiting, and I wanted to evolve beyond those constraints. As HANAA, I want to exist as my most authentic self in the moment, free from limitations. It’s about showing both fragility and strength, and celebrating being human and authentically imperfect.
top DIESEL
tights CEM CINAR
shoes MUGLER
ring and earrings ELENA NAJDOVSKA
You’re producing and releasing independently — what does that freedom mean to you?
Being independent is the foundation upon which I’m building my entire world. I don’t want any filters, compromises, or outside voices dictating my vision. I’m the architect of my project. As HANAA, I’m finally free to explore every facet of my creativity without limitations or constraints. It’s about having complete ownership of my art — from the initial spark of an idea to the final mastered track.
Of course, I’m not ruling out the possibility of releasing music on labels, but from now on, the industry will have to adapt to my vision, not the other way around. This newfound freedom feels like I’ve broken free from my chains.
What do you hope people feel when they enter HANAA’s world?
That they’re not alone. That their chaos is valid. That their pain can dance, and their joy can scream. I hope they feel empowered to embrace their own stories, their own truths. I want them to know that it’s okay to be vulnerable, to be flawed, to be authentically themselves.
I want my music to be a place where they can find strength in vulnerability, where they can transform their wounds into resilience — a place where wounds and euphoria coexist, where they can feel truly alive, without shame.
coat, top, and skirt CASABLANCA
glasses GENTLE MONSTER
shoes COPERNI
tights STYLIST’S OWN
earrings and necklace D’HEYGERE
rings TANT D’AVENIR
jacket, top, and trousers BLUMARINE
shoes DAVID KOMA
TEAM CREDITS:
talent HANAA
photography CORALIE WATERLOT
styling ANTHONY GOETZMANN
makeup FANNY MAURER
hair MHEILA KILAMA
light director QUENTIN LEFEUVRE
styling assistant WIKTORIA DUBOIS
editor TIMOTEJ LETONJA
interview MARIE-PAULINE CESARI
