PUBLISHED: October 15, 2023 at 2:45 p. m.
KIBERA (KENYA) – Her designs are made in Kibera, Kenya’s largest urban slum, but have caught the attention of stars such as Beyoncé and Bruno Mars and have been featured in Vogue magazine.
For Avido, his designs serve a dual purpose: to show the world what can emerge from the impoverished community of Nairobi, where he was born and raised, and to make it a better place.
Last year, the 27-year-old designer presented Kibera Fashion Week and the edition took place on Saturday in the center of the sprawling neighborhood.
Avido, whose real name is David Ochieng, was encouraged to create one of his mottos: “Great things can come from places you don’t expect them. “
Avido, the eldest of four children raised by a single mother in Kibera, never had any idea to pursue a career in fashion.
“The search for an alibi to keep me alive is what propelled me into fashion,” she says in her deep voice.
He sought to escape life on the streets and said that 60 to 70 percent of his friends from his formative years had lost their lives to crime or drugs.
Forced to drop out of school at age 11 due to lack of money, he tried to get out of trouble, first by playing soccer, then running in structures before joining a dance troupe.
She then began designing costumes for ballerinas.
“I spend time with the tailors who sewed the clothes we danced in,” she said. “I learned to sew even without knowing it. “
– Basketball cap, bomber jackets and kimonos –
He then trained as a designer.
“I was motivated. . . he was an entrepreneur,” recalls Japheth Okoth, a charity employee who helped Avido get its first sewing machine.
“As soon as he got this machine, he started designing garments and making shirts,” she said.
One of her garments caught the eye of Jamaican singer Don Carlos, founder of the reggae band Black Uhuru, who was visiting Kibera on the sidelines of a concert in Kenya in 2017.
Avido gives her a blouse and this montage convinces her to dedicate her life to fashion.
With her “Lookslike Avido” logo, she develops a colorful, gender-neutral style, mixing a variety of patterns and textures, adding ankara, a colorful African waxed fabric, and velvet that can be discovered in her kimonos and bomber jackets.
His inspiration comes from the catwalks of New York, Paris or Milan, but also from the streets of Kibera.
“Here on the street we have everything: when we talk about the avant-garde, the official, everything is in the street,” he said.
One of his signature products, however, comes from the Kenyan countryside: a conical basket woven by his grandmother, which he would flip over and wear as a hat on a rainy day.
His taste caught the attention of Bruno Mars, rapper Ty Dolla Sign, reggae singer Chronixx, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Beyoncé, who entrusted him and other African designers with their “Black is King” project.
Her designs were showcased at Berlin Fashion Week in 2019.
– ‘There’s no point in being alone’ –
But Avido helps keep both feet steady in Kibera, where all of its garments are made.
When he was contacted by Vogue Italia for an interview and photo shoot, he insisted that the models used were young people from Kibera and that they were paid.
Traumatized by his formative years, in which he had to move to elegance in tattered uniforms, Avido, through its eponymous base, also makes uniforms for Kibera students, will pay school fees for some, and teaches young mothers and deaf women how to sew.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, it has produced thousands of masks that will be distributed free of charge.
“Fashion is not just about making clothes, it’s also a platform to improve our network,” she said.
“When it comes to projects, I try to think about the effect it’s having and if there’s no effect around, I usually don’t,” he added.
Despite his international fame, he has no intention of leaving his local slum.
“I don’t see the point of growing alone. Maybe I’ll grow up, go and participate in Paris Fashion Week. But I would have a fashion week here and motivate other people here,” she said.
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