8 Emerging African Designers You Should Know
Through innovative strides and careful execution these womenswear and menswear designers are changing the way we see African design.
Recho Omondi is a Kenyan-American New York-based womenswear designer, who uses the duality of her Kenyan heritage and western lifestyle to create her own distinctive label. Omondi began her career at Savannah College where she studied pattern making and later worked with Olivier Theyskens at Theory and Kimberly Ovitz. After successfully immersing herself in the industry she established her own brand Omondi in 2013. She began gaining public attention after she presented her second collection in New York’s Chelsea gallery with a full cast of models of African descent. This was especially unique because of the vibrant colors like pastel and pink that was used in her collection, which contrasted beautifully with her selection of models.
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar she states:
"The color palette was inspired by sunrise in the winter; those mornings when the cold cuts to the bone but the sky is so ethereal and enchanting," Omondi explains. "It requires a lot of strength to survive winters, especially New York winters. Our girls this season carried that type of maternal, instinctive strength."
