Fashion Designer Alex Muchena Teaches Artisan Collective Workshop
Alex Muchena is a Nairobi-based designer and the owner of fashion brand Afro Moda Kenya. He has partnered with RefuSHE for several years and recently completed a three-month dressmaking workshop for the young refugee women in our Artisan Collective.
The Artisan Collective is RefuSHE’s social enterprise where members learn to express themselves creatively while acquiring the marketable skills they need to become economically self-sufficient. Women in the Artisan Collective not only earn an income from selling handmade textiles and accessories, but they also gain invaluable production and manufacturing knowledge. Many of our girls move on to open their own artisan enterprises using the business acumen and tailoring skills they learned as members of the Artisan Collective.
By the end of Alex’s three-month workshop, members of the Artisan Collective were able to measure, cut, and sew their own dresses using their own measurements. They also learned new, more advanced techniques in garment construction, finishing, and quality control.
When asked why he wanted to partner with RefuSHE, Alex was candid about passing down his skills as a fashion designer to girls who otherwise may not have had the chance to learn them. As one of the designers who participated in Fashion Challenge 2022: Destination Nairobi, Alex was glad to be back at RefuSHE and see how excited the girls were to learn from him.
When asked what his hope is for the girls in the Artisan Collective, he said his hope is for a change in perspective.
“We tend to think tailoring is for the uneducated, but now we see people can study fashion and design at university,” said Alex. “I’m trying to encourage them to think about this work beyond RefuSHE. This is a skill that no one can take away from you once you have it. Now that I’ve seen that change of attitude happen, everyone is really trying to work hard. The more advanced girls are trying to pull up the others and motivate them.”
Currently, there are 23 young refugee women enrolled in RefuSHE’s Artisan Collective. Their hand-dyed scarves and accessories can be purchased online or in-store at our campus in Nairobi.
We are so grateful to collaborate with talented designers like Alex who are helping further our mission to protect, educate, and empower refugee girls and young women in Kenya!
This workshop was made possible with funding from the French Embassy in Kenya and Somalia.