NAIROBI, Kenya —Nairobi Fashion Week, Kenya’s premier fashion event, is set to return for its seventh edition with a bold new theme: “Regenerative Fashion Renaissance: Restoring Culture and Nature.”
This year’s event will spotlight fashion that reduces harm to the planet and actively works towards restoring it.
Taking place from January 29, 2025, to February 1, 2025, at the Sarit Centre, the fashion week promises to be a groundbreaking celebration of creativity, sustainability, and innovation.
It will draw attention to the pressing need for a more responsible and circular fashion industry.
The theme marks a critical shift in the narrative around sustainability. While traditional sustainability practices aim to reduce harm, regenerative fashion goes further by focusing on restoring and renewing ecosystems, communities, and cultures through the fashion supply chain.
The theme will explore how designers, brands, and consumers can actively contribute to creating a circular fashion economy that nourishes people and the planet.
“The theme aligns with our vision of positioning Africa as a global leader in sustainability. We are working to establish a platform for sustainable designers across Africa rooted in the region’s cultural values. Our goal is to promote organic fabrics and sustainable fashion, and we believe this platform will help us reclaim and celebrate our story,” said Brian Kihindas, creative director of the Nairobi Fashion Week.
How African communities have embraced sustainable fashion
Kihindas said, “Throughout history, African communities have embraced sustainable fashion by crafting garments from locally sourced, natural materials and utilising traditional techniques that prioritise longevity, cultural significance, and environmental harmony.”
According to Kihindas, the textile and apparel industry is the third-largest manufacturing sector globally, generating $2.4 trillion in revenue in 2019.
“More than 300 million people are employed globally across its entire value chain, including fibre and textile producers, designers, manufacturers, retailers, and content providers. The industry has witnessed rapid growth, with production doubling since 2000,” Kihindas said, observing that the current consumption is 60% more clothes than 15 years ago.
“If current consumption patterns persist, clothing use could rise by more than 60% between 2019 and 2029. Sadly, even with these statistics that depict the sector’s relevance, the fashion industry is a major contributor to textile waste and carbon emissions, with billions lost yearly due to the underutilisation of clothes and lack of recycling,” said the CEO.
According to Kihindas, the sector is estimated to produce around 92 million tonnes of textile waste yearly, equivalent to a rubbish truck full of clothes being dumped every second.
Why the textile industry contributes to global carbon emissions
In addition, the industry is also responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions, which is more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.
“When it comes to the impact of second-hand clothes, or mitumba, it is estimated that in recent years, over 300 million items of damaged or unsellable clothing made of synthetic—or plastic—fibres are exported to Kenya annually, where they end up dumped, landfilled, or burnt, exacerbating the plastic pollution crisis,” Kihindas said while unveiling the forthcoming event.
With the global fashion industry accounting for significant environmental challenges, Kihindas reiterated that the urgency for regenerative fashion has never been more critical.
“Nairobi Fashion Week 2025 will feature designers leading this change, pushing boundaries to make recycling and upcycling integral parts of fashion production and consumption. The event will also provide a platform for industry leaders, environmental activists, and sustainability experts to discuss the future of recycling in fashion and the broader potential for a circular economy in the industry,” explained Kihindas.
By shifting towards a circular fashion model, it is beyond no doubt that Nairobi Fashion Week aims to change the narrative, illustrating how the fashion industry can be part of the solution rather than the problem.
“Recycling in fashion isn’t just about turning old clothes into new garments. It’s about creating a system where fashion becomes a regenerative force, nothing goes to waste, and everything has a second life. Nairobi Fashion Week 2025 will showcase the exciting possibilities that circular fashion holds for the future, not just for Africa, but for the world,” says Lisa Kibutu, sponsor and production lead at NFW.
