Your movement Own Your Culture, has been getting a lot of buzz lately, tell us about it?
My work focuses on rediscovering and promoting African ‘traditional’ fashion items from the precolonial period. My work entails research and insta-blogging on this subject.
I am the creator and fashion director of all the Own Your Culture platforms, where we share, promote and rediscover African heritage pieces from the pre-colonial period and showcase their relevance in today’s fashion styles.
We do this by encouraging people to contribute and share stories passed down from their communities, as well as our own research.
We collaborate with various visionaries to create inspirational looks for today’s youth.
The Instagram feed is half fashion editorial and half visual ethnography, with users achieving different levels of compositional sophistication, while foregrounding the cultural and historical value of the ensembles.
It is, in itself, a great resource to learn about African jewellery.
What is the inspiration behind the movement?
Own Your Culture seeks to restructure what fashion is to African people and go beyond the more familiar prints and fabrics to look at our ornaments, which are equally timeless and spectacular.
I have different artisans across East Africa whom I am working with to bring back these pieces. Now we have gone global and even receive cultural stories in French.
As Africans, I believe it’s important to set out our own agenda on everything, from politics to fashion, owning our stories, representing who we are in the media and reflecting our rich heritage and culture are the core fundamentals that Own Your Culture is built on.
Are you able to earn a living from what you do?
Yes, because I try to create monetary value from different aspects of this brand. For example, I sell African jewellery and also get hired for styling jobs.
How did you fall into this career path?
As a child, I loved fashion and was deeply fascinated by Egyptian and Indian cultures and at one point hoped to be an archaeologist.
When we learnt about the great migration from Egypt, I always wondered about what type of lifestyle my ancestors had. Did they write? Did they draw? What was fashionable and stylish at the time?
I grew up around Indians, Ethiopians and always admired how proud they were of their culture and heritage. I started a blog in 2012 about fashion while at the university. The blog grew into Own Your Culture in 2014. But it was not until 2015 that I became more serious about it.
What do you love about what you do?
Travelling, learning about the rich history, culture, art and design of various tribes across Africa.
I also enjoy meeting various creatives and visionaries inspired by African culture. So far, I have travelled all over Kenya, I have been to Tanzania and South Africa.
What are the challenges you face?
Language barrier with the people I interview. Also, the high cost of airfare between different African countries, as well as strict visa rules.
Career high so far?
There are so many. But one of them is seeing Own Your Culture grow into a phenomenal continental movement and the various opportunities it has afforded me. Other big achievements include travelling, working with household brands and speaking engagements.
I’m also lucky to have such a great team by my side. Depending on the projects I have. I usually work with a team of 15 individuals.
These range from artisans, photographers, stylists, models, fashion designers, social media managers, publicists and videographers, who all believe in the dream of seeing Own Your Culture grow.
