Kuwala shines bright in Canada

Malawi fashion continues to climb up the ladder of success as some designers emerge while others maintain a shine on international stage.

One common fact with most of these designers is that they physically sell their pieces.

But now an online boutique by Malawians is causing a sensation as it has taken some parts of the world, mainly Canada, by storm with its unique and exclusive pieces from socially responsible African fashion brands.

According to information on its website, “Kuwala is an online boutique that curates unique and exclusive pieces from socially responsible African fashion brands.”

The online store’s name is derived from Chichewa words ku wala meaning to shine and ku vala which means to wear. So the name can either be Kuwala or Kuvala as the owners want people to shine with confidence in the line’s ready to wear designs. Hence, the slogan ready to wear, ready to shine.

Malawians Freeda Mulenga, 28, and Veronica Nnensa, 25, are the co-founders of Kuwala and they are based in the cities of Calgary, and Toronto, Canada, respectively.

Their love for fashion, especially African prints, brought them together, they said in an interview from Canada.

“Actually, we aren’t designers at all. We partner with talented fashion designers and women’s cooperatives to promote their beautiful pieces to the international market. As Malawians living in Canada, our parents had been close family friends for some years. However, we only met back in 2011, during Veronica’s graduation party.

“Although we have very different educational backgrounds varying from public affairs to accounting, we are both passionate about fashion, particularly African fashion. Fashion is a way to express your individual style. It can say a lot about who you are, where you’re from and what you’re aspiring to,” said Freeda.

Since launching in 2014, Kuwala has partnered with several designers based in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, and continues to expand source countries.

“We launched www.kuwalainc.com in January 2014 and have been going strong ever since. Through Kuwala, we have had great opportunities to partner with some very creative designers from all over Africa. We specialise in stylish African-inspired women’s clothing and accessories. We are dedicated to promoting socially responsible fashion brands from Africa to the international market.

“We try to select designers based on their unique styles and craftsmanship. For some of the brands we carry, Kuwala is the only North American retailer. We source all our pieces straight from Africa. We’re currently looking at brands in Ethiopia, South Africa, Mozambique and Nigeria,” explained the duo.

Chitenge is an integral part of Kuwala and outfits from the fabric remain in high demand in North America.

“We live in a connected world and can’t help but influence one another. This is proven by the trend of everyday African fashion which fuses African fabrics with Western styles. We are both drawn to designers who are creative, pay attention to detail and understand fit.

“We allow the designers full creative freedom when it comes to their pieces. Sometimes, the designers allow us to select chitenge prints for the pieces we order, which can be a fun process as we get to see them transform random materials into edgy tops and cute skirts,” explained the two.

So far, in the first year of its establishment, the label has participated at one big international fashion events.

Said the brand owners: “We recently attended the Fashion Africa Conference in London, England, organised by Africa Fashion Guide. It brought together individuals from various streams of the African fashion industry to discuss the future of manufacturing in Africa. Before we launched Kuwala, we attended the Glitz Africa Fashion Week in Accra, Ghana. There, we selected and approached some of the first designers we wanted to have on the Kuwala website.”

The duo’s mission is to provide high quality, hand-made clothing and accessories that fuse African fabrics, beading, and embroidery with popular Western styles.

Not only that. Kuwala seeks to redefine African fashion by making everyday African fashion easily accessible to the North American market.

At the heart of their business is the platform they have created for African designers and artisans to showcase and market their creations to the world. Through Kuwala, they aim to promote the African fashion and textile industry while redefining African fashion abroad.

“I am a complete classic. I live by the idea that less is more and gravitate toward form fitting basics like neutral button-down shirts, jeans, and the perfect black dress. I add splashes of colour with accessories,” says Freeda.

Veronica, on the other hand, states: “I like mixing and matching different pieces. I usually have one accent piece, which could be a colourful head-wrap or unique jewellery. I like having one piece that gets people’s attention and asking where I got it from.”

Moving forward, Kuwala believes the future of Malawi design industry is bright.

“Malawi’s fashion market is still fairly young, however we see that there is a lot of potential. We currently work with Mayamiko Designed, an ethical brand whose pieces are produced right outside of Lilongwe by a women’s cooperative. Some Malawian brands we’re currently keeping an eye on are Dorovee in Blantyre and Sweet Life Mars in Lilongwe.

“There’s definitely more that can be done to promote not just Malawian fashion, but the African fashion industry as a whole. However, there needs to be an investment in training in manufacturing and education on how the international fashion industry operates,” they say.