Name: Elle
Bio: Elaine Musiwa, more commonly known as Elle, is a native from Harare, ZImbabwe. She is currently residing in the United States as a writer and fashion enthusiast. Everyday there is a story to be told, whether it is in her clothes, the people she may meet, or the art she may find. Twitter: @blkgirlonabike
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Vivienne Westwood Does Kenya
June 16th, 2011Kenya is certainly at the centre of the buzz around ethical fashion right now. In her piece for the Telegraph in March, Tamsin Blanchard spoke of mainstream fashion designers’ exploits there around this trend: Suno, Jessica Ogden (for Asos Africa), Edun and most recently, Vivienne Westwood.
Launching the Ethical Fashion Africa were three designs of bags made out of environmentally sustainable materials such as cotton canvas, woven plastic bags, recycled brass produced by Westwood via Nairobi-based social enterprise Ethical Fashion Africa, which coordinate the work of community screen-printers, beaders, tailors, metal-workers and weavers. It is designed to support and empower with skills women living in two of Nairobi’s slum areas Kibera and Korogocho.
The bags were revealed during her Paris fashion show in September 2010 and sold out within days of arriving in store. The results of a second collaboration appeared on the Paris catwalk in March 2011.
Dame Westwood made her first visit to Kenya last month on invitation by the UN agency, the International Trade Centre who endorses this initiative. Over the four days she was there she visited the Ethical Fashion production hub in Nairobi’s Godown Arts Centre and conducted capacity-building workshops
We can also expect to witness some of Vivienne’s visual inspiration from that visit in her forth-coming ad campaign. Westwood, along with acclaimed photographer, Juergen Teller (both pictured above with model, Elsie) chose the Godown Art Centre as the shoot location for the campaign which will feature Kenyan supermodel, Ajuma and local discoveries, Elsie and Sonnietta. “This is not charity, this is work…” is the mantra for the British designer’s mantra for this project, which will see yet another run as Westwood has increased her order for the next season.
Have a browse through more of the pictures from Vivienne Westwood’s visit to Kenya below.
5 Of The Best T-shirt Labels To celebrate Africa Day With
May 25th, 2011One Nigerian Boy
One Nigerian Boy was launched by top blogger Terrence Sambo. He started blogging as a hobby to pass time, but eventually used this platform to collaborate with the Nigerian menswear label, Homegrown. He started with 50 limited edition tees that came in black, white, blue and brown with “ One Nigerian Boy” written in vibrant summery colors”. Having named the line after his blog Sambo says, “ I chose the name one Nigerian Boy as it best reflected the state of things and intent of the blog. It was going to be just one Nigerian boy with a deep love for fashion and the arts sharing things he admires and fancies with the world.” Sambo plans to expand this line by adding polos, blazers and shoes in collaboration with three new Nigerian labels. He will continue collaborating in order to build his own label as well as to other talented African designers the attention of his 120,000 visitors. - http://www.onenigerianboy.com/
2bop clothing
The beauty of 2bop clothing is their connection to South African history in the heart of a child. Inspired by games that were popular in South African corner stores, they stock a collection of t-shirts, sweatshirts and snap back caps with interesting visuals. Owner Anthony Smith from 2bop says, “Disadvantaged areas during apartheid South Africa had little to offer in terms of exposure to cutting edge international design or computer technology but the bootleg arcade games that used twenty cent pieces (a 2Bop) to play at the corner shop were a window into what was happening in the outside world”.
Naturally, this means that 2bop has also drawn influences from Japan and North America, due to the origin of many of these graphic designs. They continue to build on this idea of corner store culture, games and playfulness. With their playful designs 2bop continues to grow not only in South Africa, but have also recently spread to Australia as well as worldwide sales through their online store. - http://www.twobop.co.za/blog/
check out this video featuring 2bop we came across via This Is Africa
Stocktown X South Africa: A road movie - Trailer from Stocktown on Vimeo.
DCRApeParel
DRCApeParel stands for Divine Righteous Children. Their slogan pretty much sums them up: “ It’s Cool to be Conscious!” Founders, Eric B. Ndelo and Roderick B. Vakala are Congolese Americans who have collaborated with Tony Mercer, an international street culture enthusiast. As a unit they are hoping to intertwine urban aesthetics of street culture while using the principles of Pan Africa as a foundation.“We strive to inspire pride, increase cross-cultural awareness, and disintegrate ethnic boundaries through its clothing commentary and unique perspective on style,” say DRC, who continue to be mindful of the advancements in global urban culture in order to keep their clothing fresh and relevant. - http://www.drc144k.com/
Kayobi Clothing
Kayobi is inspired by the Japanese word for “Tuesday” after the designer’s name, Kwabena Oppong Boateng. Kwabena is the name given to the child born on a Tuesday in Akon Tribes of Ghana. Not only did Kayobi sound like the designer’s initials, but Boateng also enjoys Japanese design and art aesthetic. The company has blossomed into a portal for positive reinforcement and imagery of the African story. Says Kwabena, “ Contrary to the imposed label of dark continent stamped on Africa, the continent is actually bursting with life, beauty, and most importantly hope.” Formerly, solely a t-shirt company, whose “Make Fufu, Not War” tees are the most popular, Kayobi has now branched out into also creating bags and iPod cases. - http://www.kayobiclothing.com/#
Bonk
Four years ago, a group of designers took the initiative to provide Kenya with well-designed local t-shirts rather than the few imports that they could find. Bonk now seeks to design unique cuts and styles which they prototype in order to work with local manufactures to produce their shirts with high quality fabrics. “We’ve really had a lot of fun with our designs, with collections that are culturally relevant including old retro Kenyan prints, beautiful hand-drawn illustrations, and honoring Africa’s heroes with uniquely designed interpretations of their characters & what they stood for.” They’ve also continued their designs into canvas and leather bags and continue to explore their production of other high-end accessories. - http://www.bonk.co.ke/home/
Bonkers in Nairobi! Bonkers in Nairobi from Bonk on Vimeo.