TRIBAL CHIC 2023-MAGICAL RUNWAY MOMENTS
BY WANJIKU THUKU
One word I can use to describe the just concluded Tribal Chic Fashion Event is ‘Magic'. It was truly a magical yet memorable high profile fashion event that took place at the Tribe Hotel this past weekend. From the eclectic fashion pieces on the runway from top international designers, exquisite exhibitors at the pop-up market, to sampling of various alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and delicacies from the open bars and the famous Jiko Restaurant, the
tribe hotel was the hub for an array of all things fashionable,beautiful,natural ,tribal and African oriented.
The décor setup was remarkable sight with trendy,unique,modern day drapery and flowers in preparation for the special guests who jetted into the country to see one of the biggest epic fashion events in Kenyan and African history, bringing the true tribe hotel origins as well as ensuring that the program runs smoothly. Having celebrated 12 years of high-profile fashion, local and international designers and models strutted their collections on the runway with special appearances by Pinky Ghelani and Susan Kaittany who were the highlight of the whole evening show.
Aulgah Nato is one designer I resonated with and I must say her collection was one for the global fashion books as she brought a whole new chapter and meaning to local and international haute couture and Avant Garde fashion that can be worn on and off the runway. Another group of designers who stood out for me were Shenu Hooda, Seamline Atelier from Uganda with their ‘Back to School’ type of inspired fashion pieces, plus Mariam Couture and We Are NBO who all brought their A-game to the runway.
The gift hampers included cute trendy items like MAC Tiwa Savage branded Maker Lipstick, a potted plant to conserve the environment, Charcoal Dust seedballs, a MAC makeup bag, gift vouchers from Kaya Spa worth 15% off any spa treatment and BIW BIW skincare who were giving corporate and regular consumers/hotel clients exclusive discounts between now and May 2023 amongst many other pleasantries. Other special designers and exhibitors included Sors Studio, Lakira (A Touch of Africa), Koki Designs ,Vinkay Clothing, African Lifestyle Hub, Poetic Trends,Ikwetta,The Wine Box with their lovely setup and drapery complementing their limited-edition wines, roses, and gins on sale at 5% discount flown in exclusively from France for the Tribal Chic Fashion event, Wild Work Life, Deepa Dosaja,Studio Namnyak and the pleasant young designer-Katush.
As Scott the violinist serenaded the Audience with his great musical prowess, the inhouse djs span famous music mixes that added much hype to the event as the official MCS for the evening-Angela Muiruri of Capital FM and Valentine Njoroge kept the audience glued to their seats by taking them down memory lane of how tribal chic began and where its heading to in terms of promoting high fashion to the rest of the world.
This year’s theme of ‘Sustainability’ was truly displayed in how the guests expressed themselves through their extraordinary outfits, the tribe hotel management who worked round the clock to put the show together to give everyone a pure ‘tribal chic experience', the chefs and waiters who ensured all guests received top notch vvip treatment as they wined and dined the night away, the designers and exhibitors who were completely blown away by all the love and praise they got from the various clients they dealt with, the media fraternity who gave wide coverage to the whole event as well as the corporate partners, sponsors and stakeholders who all invested heftily to make the event a huge success.
A special brunch was planned in honor of all the special guests, top designers, and regular members of the tribe hotel on Sunday afternoon at the foyer of Jiko Restaurant which overlooked the swimming pool as they shopped at the pop-up market within the hotel vicinity.We look forward to attending more events at the tribe hotel in future.
Additional Highlights:
❖ Special guests in Attendance Included Anne McCreath and Iona McCreath, Olive Gachara of Couture Magazine, Nana Gecaga ,Debra Sanaipei,Famous Stylist and Fashionista-Brain Babu, Annabel Onyango, Wambui Thimba,Shiksha Arora, Connie Aluoch,Miss World Kenya-Sheila Kwamboka with Terry Mungai and Sharon Obara, Mohammed Bana,Bidanya Barassa, Lucia Musau,Sonali Maherali,Njoki Gichinga,Kui Kamau, Letoya Johnstone, Olivia Otieno,Dasi Hussein amongst many more.
❖ The makeup was done by the MAC team led by Sheila and Hair, done by Corrine Muthoni and her hair experts.
