A model displays fashion pieces made out of old clothes. Photo | Andrew Kaggwa
Where do worn out clothes go?” Through their works,Kwetu Kwanza were spreading the gospel of environmental conservation and a clarion call that cloth, just like polythene, is one of the biggest environmental polluters.
Between November 14 and 17, the focus of artsy Ugandans was at Jinja, where the annual Nyege Nyege International Festival was taking place.
On the fringe of the festival, however, the organisers had different programmes such as a city festival and the Sudanese pavilion, which were a big deal throughout the festival.
Next to the rugby ground, however, a walkable distance to the main festival venue, IGC Fashion, a collection of designers put together one of the most captivating shows at the time, Kwetu Kwanza, a sustainable showcase spreading a message on climate change and the role of fashion.
Kwetu Kwanza, presented by IGC Fashion, is an exploration of sustainable fashion through the lens of designers from East Africa, primarily Uganda, along with notable contributions from Rwanda and Kenya.
It is an event that sheds light on the intersection of local traditions and contemporary creativity that fosters environmental preservation.
All the 12 designers of the day were spreading a message about sustainability; their works and message for the public was that not all old clothes have to be thrown away and replaced with new ones.
“The biggest question is, where do the clothes we throw after they are worn out go?” questioned one of the designers of the night.
Through their works, they were telling those who came around that cloth, just like polythene is a big environmental polluter because it takes long to decompose, and yet more and more cloth is disposed of by cloth makers and those wearing the clothes.
All this was taking place at The Office, one of the bars within the Jinja Golf Course space, which for the festival was considered the Fashion Villa; for the fashion showcase, the team at IGC changed the look of the place to make it more organic with dry banana fibres and leaves on the floor, cut pieces of cloth, and mosquito nets.
With designers like Seamline Ateller, the exhibition takes liberty with clothes as wastes; however, it gives them a new life but with a message to it. The designers reimagine fashion’s role in addressing high unemployment among skilled Ugandans.
The collection is crafted from repurposed uniforms donated by local communities, questioning the limited lifecycle of uniforms that are often discarded after a brief use.
Brian Sanvura’s installation Olugoye Lwo, which means Your Cloth, is a collection of recycled pieces of cloth. The installation was first showcased at IGC’s show in 2022 and later in 2023; this time, it was soiled, and even during the festival, it had dust coming out of it often.
The designer says he buried the outfits for a couple of weeks to prove to those that would be interacting with the work that cloth, when thrown around, takes a very long time to decompose, and in some situations it does not decompose.
“At the moment, I will still let the piece interact with nature; I will still burry it and exhibit it for the people to see what it will have become,” Sanvura says.
Ugandan-based Japanese designer Nakimuli Crochet’s installation, Iraosibi, Japanese for playing with colours, celebrates the vibrant interplay of colour and texture. Using a blend of barkcloth fibres and fabric, she crocheted and wove these materials together, transforming them into expressive works of art.
“Each piece in the collection draws inspiration from nature: the chair reflects the fleeting beauty of cherry blossoms in Japan, blooming for only a few weeks each year; the bookshelf symbolises the enduring vitality of ancient trees with fresh green leaves; and the framed artwork evokes trees deeply rooted in the earth, standing as guardians of time,” she says.
Maisha by Nisria from Kenya makes ready-to-wear clothes they recycle from different materials. For this exhibition, the clothes on display were made out of used wall curtains and waste materia thrown by tailors and other companies that use cloth.
Maisha by Nisria is a non-profit fashion and design studio from Nakuru, Kenya, that creates unique and handmade clothes from upcycled materials. Maisha offers a unique approach to fashion.
They refer to what they do as upcycling as opposed to recycling, because what they do is turn unwanted materials by giving them new life and turning them into completely different products of greater quality.
“Upcycling is not just a method for us; it's a transformative approach that addresses economic, social, and environmental concerns. By repurposing textiles from used clothes and trims, we actively minimise landfill contributions, reduce reliance on new raw materials, and prevent the unnecessary burning of valuable materials, curbing the emission of 1000 kilograms of CO2 and hazardous pollutants into the air.”
But besides the designers at the showcase, the show tried out different things, such as using real humans to showcase outfits instead of mannequins.
Much as they took turns and often moved from one place to the next, they generally did not interact with the people that came to see the art.
