Fashion designers at the JW Show 2020 were drawn from different spheres of the industry with diverse backgrounds. They composed of students at the Delight Tailoring Fashion And Design School, graduates of fashion and design from different universities in Kenya and also different nationalities. Diverse cultures were uniquely represented by all the 11 designers who sought to express their imagination through fabric and creativity. Below are the profiles of the designs they showcased at the event. READ MAIN STORY
1. Betrand
Hakizimana Singizwa Bertrand is a Fashion Design student at Delight Africa. He was born in Rwanda and raised in Kenya, both places have influenced His artistic life greatly. He started creative arts in high school by writing rap music inspired by Odd Future and Asap Mob. His goal is to have aesthetics that connect everything He does as an artist; this creative bug led Him to fashion where He finds himself through the bold creations that inspire fabric selection. His art tells a story of young Africans, born late 90s and 2000s that grew up on cable TV.
The name of His collection is “wrong things, wrong place, and wrong time”
The designs were inspired during the Covid-19 lockdown. He felt lost being stuck in the house days without end; the extended stay in a small space got Him imagining how the household items He was seeing on a daily basis would look when turned into fabric. This creative energy kept Him positive and mentally healthy during the lockdown. His creations are about decorations that beautified the living room, items He used to keep the living space clean and habitable, items He used for food, footwear that He could not do away with and redefining how to wear a shirt.
2. Kay Lim by Immaculate
Immaculate is a talented entrepreneur and founder of Kay LIM a Kenyan ready to wear brand. KAY LIM was inspired by the fact that every single person has unique beauty within them that needs to be visible to the world everyday of their lives. This beauty is e exposed to the world through KAY LIM outfits. At KAY LIM, we are passionate about making everyone happy and fulfilled about how they look and boosting the confidence of others.
REVEAL YOUR INNER GLOW!
3. Tai Designs Africa by Leah
My name is Leah Wanjiru Njiriri. My interest in fashion started by introducing new details to every cloth I purchased. Tai Designs Africa is a startup brand that focus on events gowns, African wear and customized clothes. We also customize swimwear. Our brand targets the youth both in age and at heart. Generally, people for are not afraid of being different and love playing with color.
My collection:
A young African who is introvert inspires my collection. Introverts struggle to capture attention among their peers hence they are unable to express themselves. My collection is about giving introverts a voice. The color choice is bold and eye-catching to create attention, while the fabric represents their origin and how deeply rooted to their motherland Africa. The outfits are stylish which attracts attention to the introverts; hence, they get the platform to express themselves and find a place among the peers.
4. Steve & Sonnie
• Stephen Kagera Mwangi- HeBrewsFashionLine
• Martha Muthoni Njuguna -Zemayah Kollections.
Hebrews Fashion Line is a brand that mainly deals with men’s outfits while Zemayah Kollection deals with women outfits. Our collection was inspired by the call for peace in Africa. Due to the ongoing conflicts in some African countries, we came up with different designs with an aim of preaching peace. We used different colors, which varied in meaning. RED to represent the bloodshed, WHITE to represent peace and KENTE to represent the different ethnic groups in Africa.
5. Wavinya
Florence Wavinya Mueni is an upcoming costume designer situated in Nairobi. Her passion for costume design was born in 2016 through the series’ once upon a time and the beauty and the beast .She communicates through the outfits, when she is not designing costumes she is creating fashion photography content. The collection that I will be displaying today is God’s Glory, which was inspired by futuristic fashion, which is fun and creative, and the color will be yellow. Yellow is a joyous and radiant color.it exudes warmth, inspiration and vitality. It is the happiest and the most attention seeking color.it signifies communication, which is very important during the pandemic period that we are facing. As a color, it is treasured and it shows that one looks forward to the future with hope and faith that we will have brighter days ahead
6. Modern Couture
My name is Irene and my brand name is Modern Couture. For this show, I wanted to create a collection that is inclusive of every Kenyan woman. I wanted to use locally available fabrics that not only identify us as Africans but as Kenyans and use with very modern silhouettes in my designs.
Instagram handle is @modern.couture.ke
7. Dolly designs
My name is Dolly Wangari Muthoga, I am 21years old and I am a fashion design student in Kirinyaga University. I am highlighting my Dolly Designs through JW show platform. Orad Group Company located at Spur Mall, along Thika Road, sponsors dolly Designs. My designs are defined by creating a new normal fashion inspired by the Covid 19 pandemic. We should get to shine and dress up for occasions in outstanding evening wears, dress up in Kenyan ready to wears that gives confidence and pride.
Instagram: @dollydesigns
@dollywangari
Sponsor: www.oradgroup.co.ke
8. Joyma collections
Joyma collections is a growing brand whose main aim is to dress all beautiful women around the world, women blessed with unique skin types, color ,body size and height,.
Our aim is to make Joyma collections brand, one stop store for affordable, stylish, unique and quality female, kids and male wears
Founder; Joyce Pollycarps
AGE; 25YRS
Instagram @joyma _collections
Facebook Joyma_collections
9. Seamstress by Cynthia
• Brand: The Seamstress
• Fashion designer: Cynthia Kimathi
When most people hear of a fashion designer, they think of fashion school. I did not have that advantage but I have an undying love for fashion and style and an eagerness to learn every day and i strongly believe that counts. I started African le’kiondo (a line that specializes in making authentic Africanized bags with a modern twist) in 2014 out of mere frustration of not finding a perfect gift for my grandma. A product that soon found a home in some closets home and away. I love details. It is fascinating how one tiny detail can change an entire outlook. Today I add another badge to my name as we birth the seamstress. My new baby.
10. Afriqorture
My name is Hellen Wanjiku. I ran a fashion line called Afriqorture a line that makes African themed outfits for a modern woman. The main fabric we use is Kitenge, but we also love mixing Kitenge with plain colors to bring out the rich effect of class and elegance
11. BB collections
BB collection is a fashion house named after the founder (Bijoux Bimuloko) BB collection is a luxury brand that offers Elegant Afro modern designs for this collection; my inspiration is Black and Gold, which symbolizes the beauty of my African continent. Gold symbolizes success, achievement, triumph associated with abundance and prosperity, luxury and quality, prestige, sophistication while black is Distinctive, serious, and authority, Black is sophisticated and classic Africa is sophisticated and Black is Gold
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