Old to New: High-End Fashion Upcycling With Maisha
Happy Upcycling Day!
Upcycling means repurposing old items into something new, a sustainable way to use our resources to create economic, social and environmental benefits!
Upcycling minimizes the amount of discarded materials sent to landfills, and reduces the need for production that uses new or raw materials. It also checks on unnecessary burning of valuable materials, avoiding 1000's kilos of CO2 and hazardous emissions polluting the air.
Our Maisha project is creating an alternative to the linear way of treating unused materials by upcycling and creatively reusing old pieces of clothing or fabric that are tattered, worn, broken, ripped, or frayed to give them new life so they can be worn or used again.
We train our students in high-end upcycling and the production of premium products through problem-solving, creativity, resourcefulness, and innovation. Through Maisha, our students become part of the solution to the textile waste crisis.
Meet the Lead Designer
Yvans Conde majored in Fashion Design / Fine Art and Marketing and Kenyatta University. She spent some time as a fashion assistant and lead graphic designer before launching her fashion business Tausi Conde in 2019. She has experience with upcycled projects, and a style we just love! We cannot wait for her to lead our students with her expertise!
Meet the Interns
We are pleased to introduce our Maisha by naira interns! Each of these individuals will contribute to our project focused on upcycling materials, while learning skills to enhance their future careers and creating products for sale to support our mission!
👋 Meet: Ian Gitonga Nyawira
Study path of interest: Fashion design, interior design
Responsibilities as an intern:
✔️Assisting with sewing and pattern making.
✔️ Learning how to promote a brand.
✔️Provoking creativity by embracing recycle fabrics
Ian says: “What I enjoy most as a fashion student is bringing an idea into reality and making clients feel beautiful and comfortable in designs I create. I also model, at times I feel the need to connect my skills as a designer and a model. This will helps me as a designer in seeing how those designs look on the body.”
👋 Meet: Isichi Shanicky
Study path of interest: Egerton university - Fashion Design
Responsibilities as an intern:
✔️Aide in clothing designs and construction
Isichi says: “What fascinates me most other than upcycling is the fact that the Maisha project is about bettering lives of children whose lives are not adequately funded. I enjoy bringing ideas to live and that is basically what fashion does for me. You can literally express anything through fashion.”
👋 Meet: Yuri Sadia Onyango
Study path of interest: Fashion Design, Art & Design, Interior Design
Responsibilities as an intern:
✔️ Learn how to market a brand
✔️ Learn how to make use of waste fabric in a creative way
✔️ Contribute to the designing of upcoming collections