LUSAKA, Zambia – Kenyan accessories designer Stephen Maosa has achieved a groundbreaking milestone, becoming the first designer to win the People’s Choice Award for two consecutive years at the Real Leather. Stay Different (RLSD) Africa 2025 Awards.
His finalist piece, La’balaba — named after the Yoruba word for “butterfly” — captivated audiences across the continent with its sculptural form, fluid lines, and emotional resonance.
Crafted from pebbled and smooth top-grain leather, the design featured hand-painted edges, polished gold-tone hardware, and meticulous stitching.
Maosa said the piece was a reminder to slow down, pay attention, and rediscover beauty in overlooked moments.
Continental Showcase of Talent
Nigeria’s debut entry, Unburnt by designer Omosalewa Ogunjimi, claimed the Apparel Design Award, igniting the runway with bold storytelling.
Ethiopia’s Getaneh Kifle won the Accessory Design Award with Dallol Mirage, inspired by the mineral landscapes of the Danakil Depression.
Egypt’s Farida Eid, founder of ZAHW, emerged as a continental powerhouse, winning both the Footwear Design Award and the Most Commendable Designer Award.
Together, the victories embodied RLSD’s mission: elevating real leather as a sustainable material of choice, empowering Africa’s next generation of designers, and driving value addition across the continent’s creative economy.
Messages of Vision and Courage
Speakers reminded delegates of RLSD’s three pillars: promoting leather as durable and circular, empowering designers through mentorship and Slow Style values, and championing sustainable fashion practices.
Preston Viswamo, ALLPI Regional Design Studio Project Manager, stressed that hides and skins are strategic African assets, not waste, and must be recognised as economic power.
Nicholas Mudungwe, Executive Director of ALLPI, urged designers to embrace courage and consistency, likening progress to a football team where success comes from collective effort.
He honoured the 149 applicants and Top 15 finalists, calling for the creation of an RLSD Alumni Network to unite Africa’s design talent.
Creativity as Infrastructure
Chief Guest Crusivia Hichikumba, Zambia’s Permanent Secretary for Industrialisation and Trade, described creativity as economic infrastructure.
He urged Africa to stop exporting raw potential and instead transform hides and skins into globally competitive products through design, innovation, and structured industrial ecosystems anchored on AfCFTA and sustainability.
RLSD Africa 2025 affirmed that African designers are not waiting for validation. From Maosa’s La’balaba to Ogunjimi’s Unburnt, the showcase demonstrated how African creativity is shaping global fashion conversations through responsibility, identity, and innovation.
Supported by the Leather and Hide Council of America (L&HCA), the Africa Leather and Leather Products Institute (ALLPI), and coordinated in Africa by CBiT, RLSD continues to unlock value addition, strengthen the creative economy, and drive Africa’s ability to trade in finished excellence rather than raw potential.