Our story
About A&P
Albanian and Proud makes apparel and accessories for people who carry Albania with them, wherever they live.
Why A&P
Pride you can wear
For a lot of us, being Albanian is something we take from home to home. It is the language at the dinner table, the music at every wedding, the flag that comes out on 28 November.
Canada counted 41,625 people of Albanian ancestry in its 2021 census, and the wider diaspora stretches from Italy and Greece to Germany, Switzerland and the United States. A&P is made for all of them: pieces that say where you come from without saying a word.
What it means
The symbols we wear
Shqiponja
The eagle
The black double-headed eagle comes from the emblem of Skanderbeg, the 15th-century national hero. Every Albanian government since independence in 1912 has kept it on the flag.
Kuq e zi
Red and black
The colours of the flag, and the nickname of the national football team: Kuqezinjtë, the Red and Blacks.
Besa
Keeping your word
A pledge of honour that is central to Albanian custom. In the Second World War, Albanians sheltered Jewish refugees under besa. Yad Vashem has recognised more than 70 Albanians as Righteous Among the Nations. Read the story
A short history
Dates we carry
1443
Skanderbeg raises his flag
By tradition, on 28 November 1443 Skanderbeg raised his red flag with the black eagle over the fortress of Krujë.
1912
Independence
On 28 November 1912, Ismail Qemali proclaimed Albania’s independence in Vlorë and raised the red and black flag. The date is now Flag Day.
2008
Kosovo
On 17 February 2008, Kosovo declared its independence. Many Kosovars fly both the Kosovo flag and the Albanian flag.
Today
Everywhere
Flag Day is marked in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and wherever Albanians live. How Albanians celebrate