Organic hand-spun cotton is a fabric that will shape style trends this year.
Rakhee Shah, a fashion director at Maisha Concepts in Nairobi says her 2019 spring-summer collection will use fabrics spun by Indian villagers who are still holding onto a dying technique.
Ms Shah's collection is inspired by the art of ‘block printing’ done in a village in the outskirts of India.
Organic hand-spun cotton is a fabric that will shape style trends this year. Rakhee Shah, a fashion director at Maisha Concepts in Nairobi says her 2019 spring-summer collection will use fabrics spun by Indian villagers who are still holding onto a dying technique.
Ms Shah's collection is inspired by the art of ‘block printing’ done in a village in the outskirts of India. This community of spinners and weavers is known to produce fine cotton. The textiles are all made by hand and they go through over seven processes from carving, washing, dyeing, drying and printing.
“I design all the patterns and colours and I work closely with this family in India to create the right dyes and designs. The production of this high-quality fabric demands close attention and a high level of skill. Watching this family of skilled artisans create such a beautiful cloth inspired me to create another collection of block prints for my next collection,” says Ms Rakhee, who started Maisha Concept five years ago after working for a decade in finance.
Her interest in fabrics started at a very young age.
“I was close to my father who manufactured and distributed textiles. I was constantly surrounded by the rich colours, prints and fabrics from an early age and I started designing and stitching pieces for self-use,” she says.
Over the years, she has travelled the world, embraced different cultures and gained exposure to a variety of local art and fashion. Seeing the world sparked her desire to link her African heritage and contemporary design to create something unique.
Although she has managed to break into the international market, stocking in boutiques all over the world, she says she has had to put in a lot of work. In Kenya, her clothes are sold at Ichyulu, Republi.ke and The Designer Studio Fashion.
“I have grown the business through word of mouth and a support network of friends and clients. But connections and funding are our biggest challenges,” she says.
Her best-seller is the 2017 Swahili summer collection. The designs were inspired by a simple leso or kanga (a cloth which is 100 per cent cotton with a bold colours).
“I grew up knowing that kanga is a popular cloth in East Africa. It is worn daily by millions of women and also used as home decor. I thought it would be great to bring in a piece of my youth through a ‘Swahili’ collection for my international customers and add a twist to the simple kanga that East Africans know of.
She adds: “This year, we will be bringing in more edge and artisanal craft from various exotic locations in the world. We are launching a new collection next month as well as a small jewellery and bag collection.”
