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ASCENSION BARBER SHOP

FABRICS SARTORIAL

NOTE: The description was only limited to the pieces retailed by the vendors/designers during the festival.The other uncredited images are models wearing their own clothes.

Africa Nouveau Festival is an ever-

growing community of creators,

curators and fans of African cool

made by us and for us. Once a year,

we congregate in Nairobi – Kenya

to collaborate, showcase and share

with one another. Our manifesto

is Creativity, Connections,

Innovation, Sustainability and

New Pan-Africanism. In 2018,

we are exploring the theme

“AfroBubblegum” which means

we have given ourselves the

permission to make art that is Fun,

Fierce and Fantastical, whose sole

aim is to increase African joy and

celebration.

In keeping with our theme, and in partnership with British Council’s East Africa Arts

programme, we paired 28 fashion designers with 7 stylists, set designers, photographers

and graphic artists from Kenya, Ethiopia and the United Kingdom to create 4 pop-up

studios at the festival and shoot regular festival attendees as models and produce a look

book that takes a contemporary look at traditional Kenyan culture, history, symbolism,

style and dress. The collaborators agreed to explore four core ideas: Urban landscapes

as experienced in the festival setting (Sartorial), the tradition of barbershops/ hair salons

and how this is manifested in Kenya (Barbershop), the richness of African print fabrics

(Fabrics) and the influence of African Deity on modern African society (Ascension). We are

extremely pleased with the results and can’t wait for you to see for yourself in these next

pages how we continue to re-imagine ourselves.

Muthoni Ndonga

Africa Nouveau Team

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Congratulations to the Africa Nouveau team on the success of the second edition of the

festival and congratulations to all the creatives involved in bringing these ideas to life. It

has been magical to see the teams marry areas of interest, skills and artistic expression

to bring together such a memorable moment. It’s such a difficult thing to do because

the festival brought together many beautiful pieces but, I’d like to highlight these two

moments.

The first was listening to designers from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and the UK sharing

insight from their successes and failure thus far. The room came alive with such curiosity

as we heard personal stories and strategies that really showed us just how much we all had

in common while uncovering different ways we could support each other’s growth.

Jewellery by Kipato Unbranded.

Another highlight is the colourful stories that have come through the explorations of

different elements of the festival. In the weeks leading up to Africa Nouveau, twelve

storytellers from Kenya and Uganda took a bespoke online course on content creation

developed by the London College of Communication. Six of twelve storytellers reported live

from the festival and published stories on varied themes. Read Lena Anyuolo’s reflection

on the festivals’ theme, Afrobubblegum here and find a review of the festival by Mwende

Ngao here which explores a myriad of fascinating personal reflections as well.

I have scrolled through this lookbook countless times and these images are a powerful

reflection of resourceful and dynamic creatives coming together to express themselves

in vibrant ways. The connections made across East Africa and the U.K. are invaluable

and we hope that engaging work like this continues to shift perceptions and broaden the

understating of emerging creative cultures. Congratulations again Africa Nouveau, you

delivered on your intention to bring to Nairobi an experience that was Fun, Fierce and

Fantastical.

Sandra Chege

East Africa Arts Team

Muthoni Drummer Queen.

Bongosawa print pants.

The Ascension set is looking at the idea of

individual rising to a godlike status. This

set references the symbols of African deity,

specifically; the pharaohs headdress and angel’s

wings. Ultimately, the idea we are looking to

address is the connection between ancient

African deity and modern African society.

Adigo and Anyiko Owoko.

Black shirt by The Afrikanas. Beaded neckpiece by Nduthas. Beaded hair clips by Own Your Culture.

Sandy Joan.

Print kimono by Wangari Mathenge.Brass choker by CO-BE Nairobi.Print seat by Madoido.

Nailantei.

Accessories by Own your Culture

Creative Advisor; Georgina Johnson

Set Photographer; Meklit Mersha

Set designer; Randy Pohler

Set stylist; Lucy Robi

Kerubo Kophen.

Greg.

Neckpiece by Own Your Culture.Brass earrings by House of Cinidimini.

Working on the lookbook was such a new and collaborative experience. Everyone brought their own perspective and I think that is why

the project was so successful. It really opened my eyes as a creative on how to better, tell stories and allowed me to be unafraid to take

a second look at the preconceptions I had.

The looks for each set incorporated the designers exhibiting at the festival and my approach was a quirky interpretation of the afro

revolution happening in fashion. This lookbook is a representation of how our many so-called trends are just old pieces with minimal

reinterpretation. It is an affirmation that clothes will always be one of the ways that we can pass down and keep our story alive from our

generation to the next.

Set Stylist

Lucy Robi

Rose

Zawadi Nyong’o.

Michael Soi custom hand painted sayari by Zero by Zawadi.

‘Ascension’ depicts an imaginative concept of African deities. The set was simply beautiful

to work with. What made it even more intriguing for me were the combinations of style,

creative accessories, and the strong characters of the subjects along with the overall stage

setups. The blue background and the colourful wings made everything in front pop out.

Set Photographer

Meklit Mersha

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Idd Aziz.

Khanga print sayari by Zero By Zawadi.

Mvroe.

Fanny pack by Nyar Nam.

BARBER SHOP

Looks at the 80s and 90s tradition

of barbershops in Kenya. The idea

here is to re-create this environement

by building a minimalist set that

incorporates original photographic

and illustrated images of hairstyles.

Set Photographer;Peter Mutuma

Set designer; Randy Pohler

Set stylist; Brian Msafiri

Rose

I am Jaq

Eugene

Afropenzi

Charles.

Graphic print kimono by Bongosawa. Jewellery from Nduthas.

Greg.

Half puffer African print jacket by Tengevuli. Graphic print trouser by Bongosawa.Earring by Own your Culture.

In my lifetime, African fashion has evolved from the pop looks of the 80’s paired randomly with ‘African ensembles’ into the epitome

of our identity. Fashion is giving a voice to the youth while also allowing us to show our appreciation to our roots. Through fashion, we

are able to express ourselves and even present “taboo” topics.

In thinking about how to style this shoot, I wanted to ensure the Kenyan designers remained top priority. I wanted to dig into my urban

cultural references while still paying homage to our ethnic roots.

I want for the world to understand that fashion is that voice we all have. It is that voice that we all understand and incorporate in

our daily lives. It is not a passing, frivolous idea. Styling this project was an honour I’d like to thank my team and the culture for this

moment in time. This publication marks a milestone for the movement we continue to foster daily.

Set Stylist

Brian Msafiri

Mumbi Muli

Greg.

Brass earring by Own Your Culture.

No furr

Clive.

Tie and dye print poncho by Wangari Mathenge.Accessories from Kipato Unbanded.

Khanga sayari by Zero by Zawadi. Face art by ah_this. Beaded choker by Own Your Culture.

Rosemary Kimani

Chepkemboi Man’gira.

Accessories by Own your Culture.

Sandy Joan.

Kitenge crop top from Kahari.Brass choker by CO-BE Nairobi.Trousers by Bongosawa X MiMu.

Randy Gowon

I interpreted the set as colourful and diverse,

suggesting a unique but cultural sense of

style. As we used natural light for the shoot,

it was easier for the subjects to move around

and express themselves freely. I think the

images show blends of modern fashion

embracing the essence of Kenyan tradition.

Set Photographer

Meklit Mersha

Perpetua Onyango

Set Photographer; Georgina Johnson

Set designer; Randy Pohler

Set stylist; Lucy Robi

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We explore the interaction of street style

within the festival natural landscape. The

idea was to capture the essence of festival

attendee and their interpretation of the

theme #Afrobubblegum.

Kenyan Vintage

Set Photographer; Alex Ropes

Emmanuel

Patricia Kihoro.

Maasai Choker from Nduthas Gift. Brass rings from Kipato Unbranded.

Mordecai from H_art the band.

Randy Gowon and Mumbi Muli

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The team at PLANNING was approached by Good Times Africa in early August 2017 to

assist with the design of spaces to accommodate the Africa Nouveau Festival. For a firm

that has seen over 40 years practicing Architecture in Kenya, this was a new and exciting

challenge, being focused around ephemeral structures and not the traditional ‘brick and

mortar’.

Our main responsibility as the architects and designers for the festival was to create a

suitable stage for the events of the festival: creating structures that were beautiful and in

keeping with the theme; Afrobubblegum: fun, fierce, fantastical, art created for the joy of

it; and that would provide shelter, a basic need for all participants.

The structures and spaces proposed had to be cost-effective, light and easy to assemble,

reusable for future festivals but flexible enough to be reinvented for a fresh feel with each,

promote principles of environmental and economic sustainability and represent culture in

a fresh and modern way.

The first task at hand was to understand the way the festival worked - we held several

brain-storming sessions with the client and were fully briefed on their expectations. The

design then went through several stages of development- starting with creation of mood-

boards and preparation of concept sketches and being carried through to more detailed

drawings for construction. The team worked with both hand-sketches and computer

drawings throughout the process, going back and forth between the different stages of the

design and engaging with the client continuously to ensure that we did not lose sight of

the original brief and design intentions.

The site was planned around four main activity areas with three of these falling within our

design and site-planning mandate:

• THE TICKETING AREA - We had to consider practical aspects such as ticketing &

payment, security & circulation while creating an impactful first impression. Guests

would be greeted by artistic signage announcing the festival and then be guided to the

main activity areas through a series of weaving circulation paths.

• THE FASHION STREET - This was organized in a linear pattern, to encourage movement

of people as they enjoyed their shopping experience and provide a conduit to the other

areas. Fashion stalls were placed on either side of a central circulation spine with

larger focused congregating areas - the lookbook - placed at strategic intervals along

the fashion spine. The lookbook would be used to showcase specific fashion activities

of interest.

• THE STAGE AND CONCERT AREA - the pièce de résistance- which acted as the main

anchor for the entire festival, assuming a stable, almost square configuration with

all activities focused towards the stage. Working with the Client, we created a funky

‘goddess’ for the festival, whose image we centered above the performing stage. Lighting

was a most important design tool with the concert ‘goddess’ coming alive at night.

A thorough knowledge of materials and careful selection of the same was essential. Materials

used were sustainable and reusable- recycled ‘lesos’ and hessian used as shading devices

and as screen walls, with unfinished plywood panels decorated and used as partition

walling. The main structural support for the fashion stalls and the ticketing areas was

construction scaffolding, borrowed for the event.

PROJECT DESIGN TEAM: PLANNING SYSTEMS SERVICES LTD.

Studio Director

Susan Makhulo

Project Architectural Designers

Debbie Donde, Michael Mathenge, Andre Mungai, Tabir Khan

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SANDSTORMWORK

NYAR NAMWORK

KIPATO UNBRANDEDWORK

OWN YOUR CULTUREWORK

CO-BE NAIROBIWORK

HOUSE OF CINDIMINIWORK

NDUTAHS GIFTWORK

MADOIDOWORK

BONGOSAWAWORK

KAHAARIWORK

ZERO BY ZAWADIWORK

WANGARI MATHENGEWORK

THE AFRIKANASWORK

TENGEVULIWORK

MAUA JUAWORK

Our eternal gratitude goes to all our collaborators, participants and attendees. Special

thanks to Sabrina Henry (UK) and Bryan Emry (KE) for skilfully producing the shoots,

stylists Brian Msafiri and Lucy Robi for bringing to life the ideas shared by the creative

team: photographers, Meklit Mersha (ET) Georgina Johnson (UK), Peter Mutuma (KE) and

Alex Ropes (UK) for capturing each image with so much zeal and attention to detail and to

Musa Omusi and Ojin Ngode for transforming the images into this wonderful presentation.

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Bryan EmryCreative producerLINK

Sabrina HenryCreative Producer LINK

Connie KitukuLine ProducerLINK

Peter MutumaPhotographerLINK

Georgina JohnsonPhotographerLINK

Alex RopesPhotographerLINK

Lucy RobiSet StylistLINK

Brian MsafiriSet StylistLINK

Randy PohlerSet Designer

Muthoni NdongaCreative DirectorLINK

Musa OmusiCreative DirectorLINK

Bazil OjinCreative DirectorLINK

Beauty By Dee (BBD)Make Up ArtistLINK

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Sincere thanks to our partners for making Africa Nouveau Festival 2018 possible

We are especially grateful to the British Council’s East Africa Arts programme for making this collaboration happen, as well as the peer-to-peer learning opportunity that has been made between Africa Nouveau and Africa Utopia festival in the UK.

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SEE YOU FEBRUARY 1ST TO 3RD 2019