Adwoa Aboah's Cou Cou tee supports Gurls Talk for Mental Health Awareness Month

Adwoa Aboah’s latest Cou Cou capsule makes a rare kind of gift: one that carries a message, funds a cause and still feels polished enough to give to a friend, sister or partner. Centered on a limited-edition “Out of Order” slogan T-shirt, the project was timed to Mental Health Awareness Month and built around Aboah’s Gurls Talk platform, with 100% of proceeds going directly to the nonprofit.

That matters because cause-linked fashion can veer into empty branding when the charitable piece is vague or the design feels disconnected from the mission. Here, the connection is clear. “Out of Order” is presented as a nod to the messiness of life, a rejection of the pressure to look composed at all times and an invitation to talk more openly about women’s wellbeing. For a gift, that gives the shirt emotional weight beyond its hanger appeal.

The product itself stays restrained. Cou Cou said the tee is made from 100% organic heritage cotton, which fits the brand’s identity under founder Rose Colcord, who launched Cou Cou in 2022 around organic-cotton intimates and considered basics. The shirt is selling through Cou Cou’s website and at Dover Street Market London, with a later rollout at Rose Bakery beginning May 16, which gives it the feel of a collectible rather than a mass-market graphic tee.

Aboah founded Gurls Talk in 2015, and the organization has grown into a community-led nonprofit focused on the mental health and wellbeing of adolescent girls and young women, with safe spaces and resources online and offline. Aboah also hosts the Gurls Talk podcast, extending that work into direct conversation. That history is what keeps this collaboration from feeling performative: the shirt does not just advertise empathy, it helps fund an existing platform built by someone whose name already carries real advocacy weight. As a present, it works best when the goal is to say something specific, not just to buy something pretty.