Kenya news and archive

From waste to runway: Kenyan designers transform used clothes into art

In a dusty alley in the heart of Kenya's largest open-air market, fashion models strut down a makeshift runway in bold, upcycled outfits made from waste collected at dumpsites and market cast-offs -- proof that even trash can dazzle. Every year, thousands of tonnes of used clothes from Europe, the United States, and beyond make their way to...

Fashion

'It's a microphone': Nairobi slum pageant gives platform to voiceless

A stone's throw from Kenya's largest informal settlement, a young woman glides down a spotlit catwalk, her delicate white dress at odds with the fake blood splattered across it and the tape covering her lips reading: "Stop, silence, gender-based violence". The annual "Mr and Ms Kibera" pageant in Nairobi, gleefully attended by hundreds, is about...

Fashion

Kenya's plus-size fashion show says 'big is beautiful'

In African wax print dresses and tight-fitting evening wear, the "plus-size" models strutted up the runway in Kisumu, western Kenya, in a special event designed to celebrate the beauty of larger women. Started nine years ago, the East Africa Plus Size Fashion Affair is, according to founder Winnie Wenga Walcott, the only event of its kind in...

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Kenya’s ShopZetu secures one million dollar pre-seed funding

ShopZetu, an African fashion and lifestyle e-commerce company, has announced the closure of a one million dollar pre-seed funding round, led by Chui Ventures. The Kenya-based start-up, founded in 2021 by Marvin Kiragu and Wandia Gichuru, is hoping to become the most prominent of its kind on the continent, operating as a centralised marketplace...

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Donated clothing worsening Kenya's plastic pollution: report

One third of all second-hand clothing shipped to Kenya in 2021 was "plastic waste in disguise", creating a slew of environmental and health problems for local communities, a new report said Thursday. Every year, tonnes of donated clothing is sent to developing countries, but an estimated 30 percent of it ends up in landfills -- or flooding local...

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Prada and UNFPA launch fashion programme in Ghana and Kenya

Luxury conglomerate Prada Group has teamed up with the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) on a fashion training programme for young women in Ghana and Kenya. The pilot programme, ‘Fashion Expressions: The Stories She Wears’, looks to leverage the social and economic power of fashion to promote women’s empowerment and...

Fashion Partner Content

Working at KOY Clothing luxury menswear brand

KOY Clothing is a culturally inclusive menswear brand and social enterprise, which pays homage to the Kenyan culture that inspires it. The clothing range includes a variety of high-end men’s smart apparel made of a traditional African fabric called Kikoy, a 100% cotton dyed in Kenya with locally produced colorings. The brand offers an assortment...

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Fashion

Looking Beyond the Obvious in Sub-Saharan Africa - Part I

For many fashion brands, South Africa has been the stepping stone into the sub-Saharan region due to the attractive economic growth and affluent market. But has the time now come to start expanding north? According to Euromonitor International, sales through apparel and footwear specialists in Nigeria and Kenya are expected to grow by 93 percent...