1.Describe your work: What area of fashion & design do you focus on?
We design, manufacture and sell ready to wear, fashion-forward, Afrocentric clothing wear for the young and modern man/woman
2. What are you most inspired by and what is the core value/driving principle that leads your work?
I am inspired by bright colours and interesting prints that are very common in African fabrics. I would like to move away from African clothing that is too traditional and ceremonial to create African fashion that is trendy and modern and can be worn on a day to day basis.
3. Has COVID-19 affected your practice as a designer and your approach to your brand?
Yes, it has. We realised that there was a decline in people shopping for more high fashion outdoorsy pieces. People are more interested in casual comfortable wear. We, therefore, created a loungewear collection to suit our customers’ needs. With every sale, we get from this collection we also give away free masks to help people stay protected from spreading or contracting the virus.
4. Can you tell us about your supply chain and the materials you use?
We source our raw materials and fabrics from various African cultures. We have bought fabrics from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa to come up with our designs. All our manufacturing and tailoring is currently done in Kenya. We also work with a delivery company in Nairobi that delivers our products to our Kenyan clients. We also deliver globally to our international clients through DHL Express and our retail partner Fashionomics Africa.
5. What does ‘Made in Kenya’ mean to you?
Made in Kenya means that the raw materials and processes used to create our finished products are sourced from Kenya. The brand was also originally created in Kenya and the business registered here making it a Kenyan brand.
6. What shifts would you like to see take place in the global fashion industry over the next 5 years?
Over the next 5 years, I would like to see more African fashion brands getting into retail all over the world. I would also like to see more employment opportunities created in Africa as there is a great need for local manufacturing of Fashion products. Finally, I would like to see a shift from fast fashion practices to more slow fashion practices. We hope to continue to penetrate the Kenyan and wider African market.
Our social media handles are:
• Instagram: @styletechdesignsby.teshie
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/teshie.Ogallo
