Sylvia Owori is one of the designers showcasing at the event.
2014 is definitely your year. With the rebranding, then the new Sylvia Owori stores in San Diego and London. Now you are one of the few invited designers showcasing at Kampala Fashion Week.
I am very excited to be taking part in this fashion week, after taking part in so many fashion weeks all over the world. I feel it’s about time I promote the industry here, and for Ugandans to come and see our exciting collection, called the enchanted safari.
Tell us a little bit about that collection.
It’s inspired by the African safari, the African journey. So you will get to see a lot of interesting wearable pieces. People can actually shop the pieces off the runway. They can be custom-made to any sizes.
At some point we had the Uganda Fashion Week, which came and ceased to exist and now we have Kampala Fashion Week. Do you think this particular one can stand the taste of time?
I actually never participated in any of the Uganda international fashion weeks, as I felt it was never organised to international standards, but Kampala Fashion Week is different. The organisation is good, and the production crew is from New York, and these are the people behind New York Fashion Week.
What people don’t know is that you can’t just come up with a fashion show that is not themed and do a show. But with Gloria, I feel she has represented Uganda well, internationally. So she has the right direction for the designers. She invited and chose those designers she felt were worth being at the show. I also felt it was time I started to support and do the local fashion weeks.
Natasha will also be showcasing at the Kampala fashion week. She did the evening wear for one of the Miss Uganda contestants, during the time when I was still in charge of Miss Uganda. So I am excited to be working along with designers of that magnitude.
Do you believe that fashion weeks are what this industry has been waiting for?
Definitely. Fashion week is something Uganda needs. Other designers get inspired by other designers work. It’s a step forward for growth. The other thing that I think will push the industry is stores like Bold, that stocks many of the designers’ work, including Sylvia Owori. So it’s a one stop shop where you can find everything made in Uganda. And well, only a few designers get the privilege to stock at the store.
I really commend Gloria and I am proud of what she has done. What she has done is at a high professional level.
