Some bespoke fashion prototypes I had in Kenya and Tanzania. The black bowtie is from one of my friends working as a waiter at my favourite hotel in Moshi, Tanzania - Kindoroko Hotel, near the base of Mount Kilimanjaro.
From top to bottom:
1. Bowtie: Blue kitenge fashion waste (Tanzania), blue lanyard from training at KiliHub, a social impact space (Moshi, Tanzania) & yellow kitenge (Kibera in Nairobi).
2. Blue Bowtie (Moshi, Tanzania) - this bowtie has since turned into a prototype for visually impaired clients. It has been tested for wearability and durability by a rambunctious service dog called Snow. So far it has survived running in the rain, watching a wheelchair rugby practice and playing soccer with me!
3. Co-designed with Mama Upendo: This one is a bowtie that is designed to help you save money. Kitenge is sparkly and designed for the epic Tanzanian nightlife. Fashion kabisa. I joked that you could keep a condom in there or your house keys, to allow for handsfree dancing. #harmreduction
4. Sex, Love and Ovaries pocket kerchief. Designed with Femme International's vision of menstrual health awareness in mind. Talking about sex, periods can be a taboo, but in Kenya I can buy a kerchief for 20 bob (20 cents) from Nakumatt - a grocery store. I can even buy it on the street. This pocket square came from a workshop idea to teach boys to sew or draw. From it, they could learn about their classmate's anatomy, learn respect and learn to be an ally. This one is the most dear to me. When I lived in East Africa for 15 months, I found relationships to be quite difficult at times. As a Canadian, we live equal as women for the most part. I found that at times, in business and in relationships, my opinion didn't matter. It was expected that I be quiet. It was expected that I not own my own health rights or sexuality. As a nurse, this to be me is completely foreign now, but as a teenager, I had no idea I could say no to sex. No idea that consent was my right. #gbv #menstrualrights
#BOYZDOCRY: Comic Book Workshop with Canadian Teens at Strathcona Community Centre. Teams drew comic strips about how the internet can be used for harm or for good in our cyberbullying / internet safety session. This team decided to make a YouTube Channel to promote their business of "how to makeup!"
Candace from Team Roselicious upcycles fast fashion jeans from Forever 21, reclaimed from Aunt Leah's Urban Thrift. She used a Strathcona Volleyball T from Hanna the youth worker.
Team POSH sketches out their pitch to the judges and comes up with concepts. They are upcycling a bowtie I made in Tanzania and vintage silk scarves that I hoard.
The winning team - Team POSH comes up with ideas for their logo for their adaptable purse that doubles as a hat if you're cold. (It's cold in Canada and yes, even Tanzania). Baridi sana!
Meep? Capital London? The genderless, adaptable fashion brand. They upcycled my WestJet uniform, a scarf and a Guess shirt with sparkly buttons. "Ready for an interview and any weather or occasion!" This team really bought into the design thinking process and integrated the knowledge we taught them. They also understood the issues behind perpetuating the charity model that Africa is poor and deserving of our fashion waste. Despite that, they told me they want to be capitalists and make lots of money by chasing the high end, exclusive fashion market of custom design. :)
Youth from Strathcona learn how to upcycle fashion waste, sourced from Aunt Leah's Urban Thrift - a social enterprise that supports foster kids. From this two day workshop, they also had a whirlwind tour of how to brand an ethical fashion empire! They pitched their ideas to our panel of experts - 2 youth workers, a Kenyan fashion enthusiast (me) and a business mentor.
Youth from Strathcona Community Centre compete in Clothes Encounters x 2: Fashion Upcycling workshop developed by Karen Chan & Excel Student Solutions. Thank you to the Greenest City Small Neighbourhood Grant from Vancouver Foundation for this pilot project. We tested the workshop prototype again with an On The Table discussion with Cerebral Palsy Association of BC and TKC Designs. We asked how might we design clothes with people with disabilities?
