Kenya’s community driven Kibera Fashion Week is leading the way in global, sustainable fashion. Kibera Fashion Week is the platform created by the community of Nairobi’s largest informal settlement to redefine style and creativity and showcase talent as a way of changing the narrative about the neighbourhood…
Now in its second year, Kibera Fashion Week, the week-long program held in October, culminated in a grand showcase in the heart of Kibera. The week of fashion & cultural talent was initiated by David Avido (Lookslike Avido/Avido Foundation) in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Nairobi, Maasai Mbili, Nairobi Design Week and EUNIC Kenya.
“Kibera is a diverse metropolis, booming with creativity and constantly evolving and innovating.”
Under the 2023 banner “Strengthening the Community”, Avido (real name – David Ochieng) says about the vision: “There is no barrier if you believe in your talent and take the next step.”
Building on a successful first event in November 2022 that saw models using the railway that winds its way through Kibera as a runway and was widely praised as one of the most innovative events of the year, it was clear that Kibera Fashion Week has come to stay.
The project partners have since organised outreach activities in different areas of Nairobi aimed at highlighting sustainable consumption to consumers as well as promoting the local fashion industry. All designers that were selected for October 2023 showcase were involved in industry training emphasising peer-to-peer learning and knowledge sharing.
Avido emphasises that “while Kibera is often portrayed as a place of in need of help and so-called “development aid”, it is a diverse metropolis, booming with creativity and constantly evolving and innovating.
“People don’t get to see it because the image they have about Kibera is post-electoral violence, prostitution, drug abuse.
“We want to show that here, we have style, creativity. What we lack here is opportunities.” Twenty seven year-old Avido was born, bred and works in Kibera, where the population is about 250,000.
The creatives of Kibera possess the skills to become pioneers in a sustainable and ethical creative industry. Kibera Fashion Week has become a platform for the community to redefine fashion, share new methods for sustainability and bring together stakeholders from around the world to challenge unethical and exploitative consumption.
“I´m just overwhelmed by the work these designers have done over the last months. They have truly redefined sustainable practices from a community perspective and created something immensely beautiful in the process. The world can learn a lot from the people of Kibera.”, says Cristina Nord, director of Goethe-Institut Nairobi and member of EUNIC Kenya.
Some catwalk highlights included 26-year-old designer Pius Ochieng (no relative to David Ochieng) whose post-apocalyptic style re-purposes computer motherboards, spark plugs, LED lighting, chains, springs and other elements of discarded junk metal.
Helen Wanjiru, age 26, grew up in Kawangware district, Nairobi featured oversized pockets in her designs.
“The pockets are big but they are empty,” says Wanjiru. “It is an analogy — a lot of youths in Kenya, they have education, they have ideas but they don’t get jobs because there is no opportunity.”
Kibera and its Fashion Week has assured its place as a leader in global sustainable fashion and creativity.
