Former Marks & Spencer worker eyes Nairobi women with styling

Fairly new to the local fashion scene, Emma Reed of Emma Shoe, joined hands with local designer Deepa Dosaja for a makeover show at her boutique at Hanover Block on 14 Riverside.

“Deepa and I only met a few months back but struck an immediate friendship based on creativity and our love for fashion. She is a truly talented designer and her use of exquisite fabrics and gorgeous prints and colours really are her benchmark,” says Reed, a stylist, who moved to Kenya from the UK two years ago.

At the Secret September Sale event, she and Dosaja revealed the new look of seven women who volunteered for a style makeover.

“I believe the role of a stylist is far more complex than simply dressing people in the latest trends,” she says, adding the key part is to be conscious of emerging fashion trends, “but I would not call myself a fashionista, nor do I believe dressing in cutting edge fashion guarantees looking stylish.”

Reed dresses her clients according to their lifestyle needs, she said. In Kenya, styling services are far from the reach of many people. However, Reed says she wants to make styling the focus of “everyday woman” in a way demystifying it as the preserve of celebrities.

Fashion cities

Reed says she is focusing on restoring women’s self-confidence by helping them to make over their wardrobes. Changing how a woman dresses, she said in an interview, can change how a woman feels emotionally. 

“Many of my clients come because they have lost their sense of style, often due to a lifestyle change; birth of a child, starting on a new job or emotional upset affecting their self-esteem like a severe illness or a break-up,” says the stylist.

Reed’s expertise comes from different experiences. After studying for a degree in Footwear Design she worked for some of the leading retailers like Marks & Spencer, before going on to work as a freelance shoe designer.

She got involved in shopping trips to all the major fashion cities like London, New York, Milan and Paris where she became an expert shopper with a nose for emerging trends. After years of private consultations by friends on styling, the turning point for Reed was when one asked to help her get her shape back after giving birth.

They did a wardrobe makeover and re-styling before embarking on a shopping trip with a small budget. She decided to become a stylist.

Reed started Emma Shoe in 2008, an all-inclusive styling business offering wardrobe makeover, re-styling and personal shopping.

“My styling is intuitive, and I first try to understand my client’s lifestyle and wardrobe needs, including her emotional attachment to clothing. My aim is that she not only looks amazing but feels gorgeous and confident in her new style,” she says.

The show at Deepa’s boutique helped to learn what the Kenyan woman wants; she discovered that they are bold in trying out new things.  

“I love living in Kenya, the diversity of fashions and culture here are so inspiring and I feel such a creative vibe in Nairobi. The colours and prints in Kenya are so much more vibrant than the UK, where people tend to wear a lot of plain navy and black,” says Reed.

She also sees more opportunities to create similar fashion parties like swap shops or styling parties at people’s homes where the host can invite a small group of friends and each guest gets a mini makeover.

Breastfeeding wear

The challenges have given her the opportunity to create her own leather belt line as well as a new offshoot business, Mama Flamingo, which is a range of stylish shawls and ponchos for breastfeeding or everyday wear.

As for other challenges, like where to shop, have proved to be difficult. Unlike in London where it was easy to shop for a whole outfit in one morning in one mall or in one street, shopping in Nairobi can take days.

“Shopping in Nairobi can be exhausting and time consuming. Many people work from small showrooms or even their homes and can be difficult to find. Here, it can take days to shop for an entire outfit, shoes, bags.”

Giving women back their self-confidence is her goal and will not allow challenges to stand in her way.

“The most rewarding part of being a stylist is making a positive change in a woman’s life and seeing her confidence blossom after a re-style.”

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