Mwamba Dress from the S-S 2014 Collection will be available in Mofti, New Muthaiga Shopping Mall. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
The clothing is often seen as very resort/beach inspired but in actual fact, many pieces are easily suited for city attire.
As interest in our own local fashion grows, other popular African fashion brands are taking notice and coming into the vibrant fashion space.
Lalesso, a Kenyan clothing brand which was previously only available in South Africa, Australia and the US is now selling at Mofti, New Muthaiga Shopping Mall.
“Nairobi is booming right now, and not just in an economical sense, but on a social level too. Creatives are doing amazing things, the new wave of media/bloggers are connecting everyone in all the right ways and there just seems to be this sensational buzz about the city,” says Olivia Kennaway, the designer and director of Lalesso.
She adds that the Coast is Lalesso’s birth place so it makes sense to want to be a part of this metamorphosis that is taking shape so rapidly.
Although they have been selling in Diani since inception in 2009 with her business partner, Alice Heusser, their biggest markets are currently Australia and the US, followed by South Africa.
“We have achieved a certain level of international success and accolades which thanks to online media has helped us build a local following over the years. It has always felt somewhat frustrating for us knowing that we have such a loyal fan base in Nairobi but we were not able to serve them,” says Olivia.
Both the Lalesso founders live in Cape Town, South Africa. They were inspired to start the clothing label after a holiday in Lamu where the women “adorn the khanga cloth with a unique vibrancy and graciousness”.
The brand’s inspiration is from the vibrant East African kanga cloth in the print rich designs. The exclusively summer label engulfs an effortless sense of freedom through its classic yet uniquely distinguishable silhouettes.
“Neither Alice or myself have ever permanently lived in Nairobi and while I have spent much time here, I can’t profess to know it inside out. What I do know is that there are markets/social scenes/trendsetters popping up left, right and centre in this city.
Understanding these, I suppose, has been a challenge, especially without being there ourselves. One needs to understand them in order to penetrate them,” she says.
In addition to the Kanga inspiration, all Lalesso garments are produced by Wildlife Works or SOKO in Maungu, near Voi. SOKO is an eco and ethical clothing production facility that encourages fair and sustainable development.
However, their swimwear collection is produced in South Africa as they did not find a Kenyan factory that had the machinery to do that. With people already familiar with the brand in the city, the owners feel that the Nairobi market is ready to buy into Lalesso designs.
Olivia explains that the Lalesso customer can be extremely varied. The clothing is often seen as very resort/beach inspired but in actual fact, many pieces are easily suited for city attire.
The nature of their print-based collections certainly calls for a bold, brave and confident woman. The silhouettes are effortless and easy-to-wear, with comfort being key.
At Mofti, the two designers intend to keep Nairobi up-to-date with all the latest collections. The Summer/Spring 2014 collection will be available from October this year.
