NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenyan heritage fashion house KikoRomeo is set to take its designs to Moscow Fashion Week on October 1, 2026, securing a place on the event’s official international calendar.
The Nairobi-based fashion house will present its collection at the Central Exhibition Hall “Manege” in Moscow through a collaboration with Nairobi Fashion Week, placing Kenyan craftsmanship alongside designers from several international fashion markets.
KikoRomeo will present Ewala, its Spring/Summer 2024 collection, for its Moscow debut. The decision to take the collection to Russia allows the fashion house to showcase a body of work that reflects its design identity, craftsmanship and approach to materials.
The collection combines contemporary silhouettes with handloom textiles and a zero-waste approach. The Moscow presentation will also feature rainfed organic cottons, art fabrics and hand-carved coconut-shell buttons, highlighting the label’s use of locally sourced and artisan-produced materials.
KikoRomeo founder Ann McCreath described the appearance on the official Moscow Fashion Week calendar as an opportunity to take the brand’s vision to a wider audience.
“Taking KikoRomeo to the official calendar of Moscow Fashion Week is an extraordinary opportunity to present our vision on an important global stage,” McCreath said.
She said the fashion house has long used fashion and art to encourage conversations between different cultures.
“Our core purpose has always been to use art and fashion as a universal language to bring people together and build understanding across cultures,” she added.
KikoRomeo’s showcase forms part of the international programme of Moscow Fashion Week, which runs from September 26 to October 1. The official programme lists designers from countries including Kenya, Britain, India, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Nicaragua, China, the United States, Spain, Belarus and Sri Lanka.
The event will host its international shows at the Central Exhibition Hall “Manege”, one of Moscow’s major exhibition venues.
For KikoRomeo, the booking provides a platform to introduce its Kenyan design language to an audience beyond East Africa. The collaboration with Nairobi Fashion Week also forms part of efforts to create international opportunities for Kenyan designers and connect them with new markets.
Brian James Kihindas, Creative Director of Nairobi Fashion Week, described KikoRomeo’s inclusion on the official calendar as an important opportunity for Kenya’s fashion industry.
“Securing a place on the official calendar of Moscow Fashion Week is an unprecedented opportunity for Kenya’s fashion industry,” Kihindas said.
He said the collaboration supports Nairobi Fashion Week’s efforts to expand the reach of Kenyan creative talent.
“This platform, realized through our collaboration with Moscow Fashion Week, directly fulfills our vision: to unlock international markets, champion our creative economy, and position Kenya’s extraordinary design talent where it belongs—on the world stage,” he added.
KikoRomeo was founded in Nairobi in 1996 by Ann McCreath and has spent three decades developing a design identity built around African craft, contemporary fashion and sustainability.
The brand’s name means “Adam’s Apple” in Kiswahili. Its designs incorporate natural fibres including cotton, linen and silk, alongside handmade and hand-dyed fabrics and hand-carved trims sourced from Africa.
The fashion house also works with artisans across East Africa, some of whom have collaborated with the brand for more than two decades.
Iona McCreath, Ann’s daughter, became Creative Director in 2018 after growing up around the fashion house and later studying art, fashion and sociology. She has continued developing the brand’s use of textiles, craft and contemporary silhouettes.
The showcase also comes as KikoRomeo continues to attract international attention. Earlier in September, Iona McCreath was named among the fellows in Yale University’s cultural heritage programme, joining an international cohort working around the preservation of cultural heritage.