The designer Shenu Hooda (left) with Pinky Ghelani, on the runway at the Zen Gardens. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
Shenu is a designer who likes colour, silver and gold threads whose clothes are made in a Pakistani workshop that her mother runs.
Dressing Kenyan women and men in Indian wear, no matter who they are or where they come from, is what Shenu Hooda has built her fashion house on.
“I use South Asian fabrics and play with African prints and patterns. I like to do a fusion of both cultures. That is what makes me different from the rest. I use African beadwork for the South Asian motifs and patterns I design,” she says.
Colour
One of the gowns has the popular Maasai figure holding a spear all done in beadwork.
Shenu is a designer who likes colour, silver and gold threads whose clothes are made in a Pakistani workshop that her mother runs. The shop is located along General Mathenge Drive, in Westlands.
Counting Ian Mbugua and Pinky Ghelani as some of her customers, her South Asia fabrics (cotton, linen, silk and chiffon) with intricate embroidery and thread work, floral prints and bright colours have even become more popular.
“The cotton is softer than the one we get here which is stiff and coarse. We also do not have good pure linen locally. People like to wear soft fabrics that flow and are comfortable. When wearing them, you do not feel hot. During certain months, Nairobi weather can be very hot. People like to wear the cotton with long sleeves,” she says.
In the beginning, Shenu used to bring in a lot of heavy fabrics that had equally heavy thread work to match. However, she would like to point out that was when her business was largely bridal wear. She still does five bridal events a year.
Embellishments
Shenu’s runway collections are always pleasant to watch. She usually brings the right balance of pure Indian wear which does not shy away from colour, volume and embellishments and those that have the African patterns and prints.
“I am a very colourful designer as you can see with all my clothes,” she says, “I think bright colours make you lively. I feel you can wear colour according to your mood.”
Bringing new stock every month, a shopper would not lack choice for the indo-western gowns - western cut gown with traditional Indian design aesthetics, Kurtas, saris, Palazzo pants and all kinds of Indian wear one can think of with the kurtas (long dress top) and palazzos (straight trouser) being the most popular.
“I do the kurtas with simple stitches and collar and few buttons. The simple linen and cotton fabric in bright colours is what people like,” says Shenu.
The kurta prices range from Sh4,000 to about Sh10,000 for both men and women, however, it depends on the fabric, thread work, embroidery and most of all the value of the material used. For example pure silk is a very expensive material and a regular silk kurta for women will cost on average Sh7,000 to Sh10,000.
The men’s cotton kurtas range from about Sh4,000 to Sh7,000.
African figure
Some come with thread work, like a white Kurta with white embroidery that she pulled from the rack of clothes at the shop, whose beauty one has to step closer to appreciate.
Shenu usually does the embroidery pattern sketches then the workshop brings her designs to life using traditional embroidery techniques. That is why she requires those who want a custom piece to order four weeks in advance.
“The African woman is curvy and they can pull off Indian wear and look beautiful. It’s even better if they can wear bright colours. Pastel colours are good and it does make you look elegant but you will not stand out,” she says.
