Stylists out to leave fashion mark with African prints

Zeynabally, established a year ago focuses on accessories with elegance and vibrant playfulness.

Zeynab Ali and Tony Opot, the proprietors of the fashion house, met while doing a joint marketing project.

“He does the business aspect of it. He is the one that keeps me on my toes like ‘What are doing? What is our next big thing? What are thinking about?’ For me, it’s just developing of the products,” says Ms Ali.

With Ms Ali’s big ideas and Mr Opot’s business acumen, the two business partners sought to brand the enterprise as a fashion house that produces high quality products with creativity and detail.

Going against the norm, they chose to start with footwear and bags. “We wanted to go beyond the basic Kitenge attire that were being done. It all began when Zeynab wanted to wear something pretty and African but was tired of Kitenge dresses,” says Mr Opot.

He has always been interested in fashion and new trends but had no particular commitment until he met Ms Ali and became part of Zeynabally.

“I think every girl is interested in fashion to some extent and wants to look good and put a lasting perception of herself out there. When I got into the Kitenge, I fell in love with the prints. I find it very intriguing. It started with dresses then bags,” says Ms Ali who loves working on new ideas.

Shoes are tricky to make. Zeynabally actually started with bags and other accessories like bangles and earrings and then did a lesso ‘skirt’ collection while learning how to make shoes.

“My workplace was my room so I would stay awake working on the shoes then send him (Tony) pictures. He would say ‘No, go back and do it again’. They are so many shoes that have gone to waste. I became a cobbler,” says Ms Ali breaking into a laughter.

She had tried attaching fabric on new shoes with glue as well as making new ones from the scratch. It took her two months to come with a pair of shoes that could be worn without falling apart. The first time she wore the shoes people were interested in them and amazed that she had made them.

The first footwear collection was heels then wedges to the latest collection — ordinary booties and flats. They are currently stocking at the Moo Cow Shop, Silver Springs Hotel and advertised on Zeynabally’s Facebook page.

Stand out

The fashion house’s products represent what Zeynabally stands for — catering for the needs of people who want to express their personality through dressing. Part of this is to design products that a wearer can stand out without wearing full African attire.

“Our creativity, passion and drive ensures that our products give the clients an experience beyond what they anticipate,” says Ms Ali.

“We can take care of every aspect of an ensemble and or work with a client in choosing how to blend their attire with the accessories we have to offer.”

This is one of their secrets of success. The fashion accessories scene in Kenya, especially working with African fabrics is competitive.

However, Mr Opot says that they are not be afraid to try out new ideas and designs to gain an edge in the fashion world. Right now, they are many people getting into the industry without any innovative ideas, just replicas of what has been done, he adds.

“The (shoes and bags) idea was so that we do not get lost and do what everyone else is doing. We will focus on it now but eventually we are not going to close ourselves on that,” he says. “We want to use our strength and be known as the people who have perfected the shoes and bags then rest will be adding to that.”

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