Designer sowing the seeds of change against fast fashion

Disillusioned by the unethical practices of the fashion industry, knitwear graduate Cecily Cracroft-Eley found hope for the future in the crafting communities of Uganda that helped put together her celebrated and sustainable collection.

Images courtesy of: Cecily Cracroft-Eley

The seeds of Cecily CracroftEley’s graduation show at Central St Martins, London’s world-renowned arts and design college, were sown in Kampala. Here among the crafting communities, the fashion designer found a sustainable antidote to the unethical practices in the industry she witnessed while interning as a student in Paris.

There were also plenty of seeds up there on the catwalk with the handcrafted collection made mainly from natural materials sourced from Uganda. Models strode the catwalk like stunning survivors of an apocalyptic world. Some peeked out from gigantic breast plates strung with hundreds of walnut shells and with shoulder pads to shame an American NFL footballer while others strutted in trousers or mini-dresses sequined with layer upon layer of hand-cut metal and leather discs or dazzled in flowing screen-printed robes decorated with nzimbi shells.

It was an unforgettable celebration of traditional crafts and the handmade as well as a well-directed kick at the role fast fashion is having in escalating the global climate crisis.

Cracroft-Eley says: “Valuing the process of time serves both as a therapy and a protest against the voracious cycle of the fashion treadmill which weaves obsolescence into the very fabric of its garments.”

Incorporating sustainability into everything I do is of course a challenge but there is no other option for me and it is only one of a number of challenges.

The knitwear graduate first visited Uganda working for the Paper Fig Foundation, which promotes the local fashion industries in East Africa. She then returned to the country for her degree course placement year when she worked with the Kanyogoa Mums, a group of women and single mothers from one of the Kampala’s largest slums who specialise in handcrafts as a way to earn an income and become financially independent.

Sharing her skills

Cracroft-Eley began teaching pattern cutting and crochet with the women, but the learning went both ways with the mums passing on a new beading technique using nuts and seeds. They also proved the perfect collaborators in the time intensive, exclusively handmade work – the hundreds of discs that add a shimmer to garments were each cut by hand from sheets of copper – Cracroft-Eley was set on.

“The Kanyogoa Mums are an incredible group of women. They helped me to hand crochet the pieces for my collection in return for financial support. I also worked with local artisans and craftswomen in Kigali, who worked on hand embroidery and accessories.”

The year in Uganda led to CracroftEley becoming “obsessed” by local, traditional crafts and to seeing supportive communities of artists such as Kanyogoa as the way forward if the fashion industry is to become truly sustainable. She is now back among the mums.

“My plan is to keep working with Kanyogoa Mums so they can continue to earn an income from their beautiful craftwork. I have fallen in love with Uganda. It has become a second home to me and I find it the most inspiring place on earth.

Cracroft-Eley’s collection, which was shortlisted for the prestigious MullenLowe Nova Awards, is so steeped in her time in Uganda she named it ‘Etaka’, the Luganda word for the red earth that settles like dust on every surface. The collection also drew on the rich range of natural resources available in the country.

Garments made from bark

“I was particularly inspired by local Ugandan materials such as bark cloth, matembe [seeds], and nsimbi [cowrie shells],” says Cracroft-Eley. “Barkcloth is a traditional Ugandan fabric harvested from the indigenous Mutuba tree. The tree is not harmed during harvesting, rather the bark of the tree regenerates and can be harvested repeatedly over dozens of years, meaning it is both an environmentally friendly and renewable material.”

Seeing the ingenuity of largely self-taught local artisans in sourcing natural materials for their work was also liberating to Cracroft-Eley, who relished the opportunity to share skills and to have her creativity challenged by a new environment.

“When I first arrived in Kampala I was working with emerging local fashion designers, understanding the context of their practice and the challenges they face,” she says.

“Almost all the designers I met are doing amazing things, not only for themselves but also for their communities. I think what I found particularly amazing is their resourcefulness and desire to give back to their community, particularly when they don't have much means themselves by which to do it. It is really the talent and the passion that drives it. Due to a lack of arts education here, most designers are self-taught, which whilst having limitations, ensues in their designs a clear spirit of freedom and creativity.”

Cracroft-Eley has relished the chance to leave the fast fashion world behind in the traditional methods used here and has found a like-minded community merging creativity and sustainability.

She says: “Incorporating sustainability into everything I do is of course a challenge but there is no other option for me, and it is only one of a number of challenges. I find such challenges push me to be more creative in my approach. You have to find alternatives to everything which teaches you more in the process.”

Craftsmanship is the future

For Cracroft-Eley these ancient crafts have never been more modern and necessary, which is why she is now back in Uganda and the country's influence will continue to be felt in her future work.

“My love for craftsmanship is something that grows every day. It is for this reason I always place huge emphasis on the handmade in my work. Considering how far fashion has gone in the other direction, a return to craft and the handmade, is perhaps the most modern thing we can do as designers in my opinion.”

For more information on CracroftEley’s work, visit cecilyophelia.com

Top five: Ugandan fashion designers

Cecily Cracroft-Eley has been inspired by the craftsmanship and natural resources of Uganda, but the country also has its own talented designers making a name for themselves.

Anita Beryl

Anita Beryl launched luxury fashion brand Beryl Qouture in 2011 and it has gone on to become one of Uganda’s most popular fashion design houses with an emphasis on high couture and ready-to-wear items. Her designs are available to buy online from all over the world or from the brand's store in Kampala’s Tirupati Mazima Mall. Beryl has won a host of awards for her work, including the Creative Fashion and Design prize for her wedding wear from the Ugandan Registration Services Bureau. For more details, visit the website at theberylqouture.com

Santa Anzo

Anzo is a Ugandan model, fashion designer and businesswoman, who is the founder and chief designer at fashion house Arapapa, which means ‘butterfly’ in her native Madi language. She is also the founder and president of Uganda International Fashion Week, an annual fashion exhibition in Kampala. Her work has also been seen on the catwalk at Kenya Fashion Week, Mozambique Fashion Week and Swahili Fashion Week in Dar es Salaam.

Sylvia Owori

Owori is one of the leading figures in East Africa’s fashion, media, and modelling industries. She was responsible for turning the Miss Uganda beauty pageant into one of the biggest events on the country’s social calendar, founded the magazine ‘African Woman’ and launched her own modelling agency, Zipa Models. She also has her own fashion outlet, ‘Sylvia Owori, selling a range of unisex T-shirts, kaftans, wrap dresses, tote bags, skirts and shoulder bags. Visit the Facebook site @SylviaOworiFashion

Brenda Maraka

Maraka is a textile designer who has dressed A-list stars such as Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o and sells her work globally through her fashion label Brendamaraka. Visit her Facebook page to see her range of bridal wear, occasion outfits and underwear. She is also a useful golfer, recently winning the ladies’ section of the Kenya Day Golf Tournament.

Sheila Lukwanzi

After studying in Paris at the renowned IFA fashion school, Lukwanzi returned to Kampala to launch her own eponymous fashion label, producing an annual collection of unique, made-inUganda dresses. Described as a hijab fashionista by Ugandan style website Satisfashion UG, her look blends modesty and elegance with nods to her style icon Quatar's Sheikha Moza. Visit her Facebook site @sheilalukwanzi