UPCYCLED FASHIONABLE CLOTHING FROM MATERIALS SOURCED FROM NAIROBI FLEA MARKETS FOR YOUNG WOMEN

(A Survey Research on Nairobi Street style)

BY:

ANYANGO YVETTE ANNE-MARIE

A RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED FOR THE FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE BACHELOR OF ART IN DESIGN DEGREE TO THE SCHOOL OF THE ARTS & DESIGN UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

1 DECLARATION

This Research Project is my original work and has not been submitted for award of a degree at the University of Nairobi or any other University.

Signed…………………………………..

Date……………………………………….

Anyango Yvette AnneMarie

Reg No. B05/28336/2009

This Research Project has been submitted for examination with my approval as the University Supervisor

Signed…………………………………

Date…………………………………..

Joan Ogake Mosomi

School of Art and Design

University of Nairobi.

2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I owe my supervisor Miss Joan Ogake Mosomi special gratitude for her immeasurable support and guidance. Her supportive and positive criticism that greatly enhanced and enriched this study through her uncompromising stance on quality and detail. I was greatly motivated.

I sincerely acknowledge the invaluable contribution of Dr. Lilac Osanjo who helped keep the study in focus and for the direction and advice.

This study would be incomplete without the cooperation of the respondents who voluntarily filled the questionnaires. My encounter with you, your candid discussion about fashion and style was an awesome eye-opener. May you all be richly blessed.

The joy and relief of completing this research paper is overwhelming and I owe it all to you, family, friends and School of Art and Design lecturers.

3 DEDICATION

I dedicate this paper to my parents, for the inconclusive support, faith and belief in me, for getting me this far and to my siblings for their encouragement and constant reminder of how great I will become.

4 ABSTRACT

Fashion is a collective cultural phenomenon generated by the individual but linked to actions of a very large number of garment designers aiming to create distinctive but similar clothes. Awareness of what clothes are common, contemporary, appropriate, is a universal part of human experience, though the sharpness of that awareness differs. The aim of this project paper is to shed light on sustainable fashion consumption in Kenya by analyzing data from the survey carried out on Nairobi street style. The main objective of this research project is to investigate street style of young Nairobi women and to create affordable fashionable collection. The following is a summary of the collection is about:

The floating woman Spring Summer 2013

This collection is inspired by the art movement abstract expressionism in the 19th century. "A term first used in connection with Kandinsky in 1919, but more commonly associated with post-war American art in light view to Jackson Pollock’s gestural paintings, techniques and colours. It was Pollock's legacy to have developed a style that reflected the aesthetic concerns of his time, yet retained a high level of individuality. The collection will explore the art of draping and layering of fabrics to create garments. This collection is an expression of my identity. It’s the freedom to choose what to wear to bring out attitude. A movement in fashion for the young at heart and are not afraid to try out something new that will set them apart and be the trendsetters, because they will be the trendsetters. The shape inspiration of the collection is from abstract paintings: the curves and lines created by brush strokes, movement created in the paintings and the emotions they evoke. The final pieces are a representation of paintings with form. This collection is part of the sustainable fashion movement using up-cycling method, extending the lifecycle of garments and fabrics giving them new life by creating unique and fashionable pieces. This collection represents identity and individuality. This collection sets out to bring out confidence, youth urban flare and to create fluid movements.The fabrics used in this collection will be chiffon, cotton, jersey, silk and knit collected from 2nd hand clothing and other fabrics. This is the range of colours that will be used in this collection; they are bright, bold, and represent urban flare.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents DEDICATION ...... 4 ABSTRACT ...... 5 1 CHAPTER ONE ...... 9 1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ...... 9 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT ...... 10 1.3 OBJECTIVES ...... 11 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ...... 11 1.5 SCOPE ...... 12 1.6 JUSTIFICATION ...... 12 2 CHAPTER TWO ...... 13 2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 13 2.2 FAST FASHION ...... 13 2.3 FAST FASHION BRAND STRATEGIES ...... 14 2.4 FASHION CONSUMPTION ...... 16 2.4.1 TASTE AND NEED FOR SOCIAL DISTINCTION ...... 18 2.4.2 FASHION WASTE ...... 20 2.5 SECOND HAND CLOTHING ...... 21 2.5.1 How the trade operates in Nairobi...... 23 2.5.2 Who benefits from the second-hand clothing trade ...... 24 2.5.3 Impact on the local textile and clothing production ...... 28 2.5.4 The unsustainable consumption of second-hand garments ...... 28 2.6 SUSTAINABLE FASHION ...... 29 2.6.1 UPCYCLING ...... 30 2.6.2 FASHION DECONSTRUCTION ...... 32 2.7 DESIGN EXEMPLARS ...... 36 2.7.1 Jackson Pollock-painter ...... 36 2.7.2 Vivienne Westwood ...... 38 2.7.3 Junky styling ...... 39 3 CHAPTER THREE ...... 39

6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...... 39 3.1 Research Design ...... 39 3.2 Population of study ...... 40 3.3 Sample design and sampling design ...... 40 3.4 Data Collection ...... 41 3.5 Data Analysis ...... 41 4 CHAPTER FOUR ...... 41 DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATIONS ...... 41 4.1 Introduction ...... 41 4.2 Demographic information ...... 42 4.3 Expenditure on shopping ...... 43 4.4 Limitations of the Survey ...... 48 5 CHAPTER FIVE ...... 49 FINDINGS, DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 49 5.1 FINDINGS AND DICUSSIONS ...... 49 5.2 RECOMMENDATION ...... 50 5.2.1 Building awareness ...... 50 5.2.2 Engage a willing audience ...... 51 5.2.3 Re-evaluating ownership ...... 51 5.2.4 Government Policies ...... 51 5.2.5 Re-opening of closed cotton mills ...... 52 5.2.6 Swapping/exchanging clothes ...... 52 5.2.7 Up-cycling Fashion ...... 52 5.3 CONCLUSION ...... 53 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 54 BOOKS ...... 54 JOURNALS AND PUBLICATIONS ...... 56 Allison Gill article on Deconstruction Fashion ...... 56 WEBSITES ...... 58 QUESTIONNAIRE ...... 59 INTERVIEW GUIDE ...... 60

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8 1 CHAPTER ONE

1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Fashion is a collective cultural phenomenon generated by the individual but linked to actions of a very large number of garment designers aiming to create distinctive but similar clothes. Awareness of what clothes are common, contemporary, appropriate, is a universal part of human experience, though the sharpness of that awareness differs. Clothes are individual, but we perceive styles as collective. We recognize clothes as within a particular contemporary style, or novel, or outdated, or simply strange – outside the boundaries of any acceptable style.

While fashion has become democratized, so the media and technological developments which characterize the 21st century have supported fashion becoming a cornerstone of many world economies. The clothing industry is worth over $1 trillion worldwide and ranked the second biggest global economic activity for intensity of trade. Yet the pressures of climate change and ethical concerns about how goods have been produced, coupled with a growing realisation that consumption dominates too many lives means

“Where did you get that?” This is a question often asked by random people on the streets of Nairobi. The need to look fashionable and to stand out in a crowd is what the mass population seek to gain. With Nairobi being the capital city, the amount of exposure to fashion is incredibly large and is still increasing. People have become more aware of how they look whether casual or office wear. Haute couture fashion is yet to be explored in Kenya as the fashion industry is still coming up. The seasonal change in Fashion trends by the western countries have resulted in consumerism as people want to buy more and more without disposing their old unwanted clothes.

The mass constantly want to own designer labels or sort after cheaper versions of designer labels. Emulating western celebrities is something practiced by the western society and Nairobi Kenya is not an exception. T.V programmes and channels such as Fashion T.V, Style Network, E Entertainment, Gossip Girls, 90210 are one the biggest influencers. Tips and information about a celebrity’s style secrets are often being dished out to the public on how to dress like the celebrity. In this day and age where people are trying to impress others by what they own and how stylish and fashionable they are will not stop them from purchasing more and more clothes either

9 second hand clothing, department stores or stalls. With a huge following on fashion trends, sets people apart. Articles in the papers being posted about what is in fashion, what to be seen in and what not to be seen in. People dress up with the chance of being photographed so that their photos could be posted on social media sites, blogs and occasionally seen in the newspaper pull- outs.

In the fashion world, it is the luxury fashion brands that set the fashion trends for each season during the various fashion weeks in cities like Paris, Milan and New York. In the previous century, haute couture designers like Christian Dior or Valentino used to set the standard for what colour or cut was fashionable that season through their designs. Today the scenario is different, because of branding there is as a wider choice and variety in brand and product offering. However, the top designers within the fashion business are still worshipped like gods.

Through their designs they indirectly dictate the taste of the fashion society, telling the public what to wear and not to wear. The consumer population waits for these dictations and the fast fashion brands utilize them to predict what trends to produce. If for example Marc Jacobs, chief designer of Louis Vuitton decides to show designs only in white for a specific season, then the world of fashion will adopt and follow. (Okonkwo 2007, p.10)

The increasing supply and demand for fast fashion has created a vicious cycle that is spiralling out of control, and designers are struggling to keep up. In 2010, renowned British and Turkish- Cypriot designer Hussein Chalayan bought back his brand from fashion conglomerate PPR in an attempt to relieve the pressure of constantly creating at ever-faster intervals. “Being in those houses is like running on a diamond-plated hamster wheel,” he has been quoted as saying. “You have to go faster and faster and faster, and chances are still very high [that] you will fall off.” Similarly, designer Tom Ford left Gucci in 2004 and has since relaunched his eponymous brand, which now shows only two collections per year (BSR, 2012)

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

―I am against fashion that doesn’t last. I cannot accept that you throw your clothes away just because it is spring.‖ Coco Chanel

10 Kenya is one of the countries that import second hand clothing that are resold in flea markets. These shipments are old, unwanted and sometimes new clothes that are still in good condition that are available. As we all know women will always shop, either as a way of therapy (fashion therapy) or they just need new clothes or there is an event that they need to go to and have nothing in the closet to much the occasion or an update of their clothes according to the trends that are in.

Most of the young women we see wear similar clothes; they have no sense of style and uniqueness that well describes them. There is no individuality when it comes to dressing. They will buy what they like and continue filling their closets without noticing how much they have bought in a short time span. Since Kenya is not in the position to resell these items or donate, where do they go?

Based on the problem statement, the purpose of this study is to create fashionable clothing for young women in Nairobi the fashion capital of Kenya and to create awareness on sustainable fashion a subject that has minimal attention pertaining to the environment and is yet to be explored by designers in Kenya.

1.3 OBJECTIVES

 To investigate the fashion sense of young women in Nairobi  To examine the influence of fashion trends on young women in Nairobi  To establish awareness on sustainable fashion consumption  To find out the impact of second hand clothing on its consumers

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

 How are the old unwanted clothes disposed?  Where do women in Nairobi shop?  How much is spent on shopping for clothes in a month.  How frequent does one go shopping.  What is the frequently bought item?

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1.5 SCOPE

This study will be carried out in Nairobi due to its proximity to the researcher. Since Nairobi is the fashion capital of Kenya, there is readily available information on Nairobi fashion scene as “Nairobians” are always willing to say something about their street style and the general outlook of street style in Nairobi.

1.6 JUSTIFICATION

The reason for undertaking this research is to create fashionable and creative wear for the young women in Nairobi as most people wear the same type of clothing and don’t have a sense of identity or style. The research also seeks to shed light on the issue of fashion consumption and sustainable fashion consumption.

12 2 CHAPTER TWO

2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

This review looks at the information on fast fashion and brand strategies, fashion consumption, fashion waste, sustainable fashion and consumption, second hand clothing industry in Kenya.

2.2 FAST FASHION

Fast fashion is like fast food it’s cheap, addictive and unsustainable. ‘We now buy 40% of all our clothes at value retailers, with just 17% of our clothing budget.’ (TNS World panel (2006) - Fashion Focus issue 29). A Cambridge University study reports that in 2006, people were buying a third more clothes than they were in 2002. Brands began competing against each other for market share by introducing more lines per year at lower costs, culminating in a situation where ‘fashion houses now offer up to 18 collections a year’ and the low cost, so called ‘value end’ is ‘booming; doubling in size in just 5 years.‘ This naturally has led to pressure on the supply chain. “Buyers pressure factories to deliver quality products with ever-shorter lead times. Most factories just don’t have the tools and expertise to manage this effectively, so they put the squeeze on the workers. It’s the only margin they have to play with.” (Oxfam report, 2004)

Fast Fashion gathered pace from the end of the 1990’s when brands began to look for new ways to increase profits. Globalization had grown rapidly in the 80’s and 90’s and paved the way for value and mid price brands to shift the bulk of their production to the developing world where labour and overheads cost a fraction of those in Europe. High street brands were coming under increasing pressure from supermarket chains developing their own lines of low cost clothing. Initially they sold items like simple T shirts and underwear; however the move of George Davies from Next to Asda signaled a new era for supermarket clothing and a move into high fashion, low cost items. Traditionally, most fashion labels have produced two main collections a year, spring/summer and autumn/winter. However, in order to keep the customer focused on the high street, High Street brands needed to create some interest within their stores mid season. Certain companies re-examined their supply chains and developed a system which several other brands then followed. They segmented their supply chain, keeping basic items manufactured in the far - east but brought the production of the more high fashion items closer to home. This had several

13 benefits. Firstly it decreased their financial outlay on forward orders and also allowed them to make decisions about the fashion items much later in the season. This added flexibility and ensured they were able to react to the market quickly and deliver ‘on-trend’ items within their stores. This model could then be developed through the use of new technological systems which linked all parts of the supply chain together. This new system allowed for the development of ‘just in time’ manufacturing and has now developed to a stage where they are able to turn a garment around from drawing to shop floor in just two weeks. Consumers reacted positively to this trend which in turn has resulted in the widespread speeding up of fashion.

A fast fashion system combines quick response production capabilities with enhanced product design capabilities to both design “hot” products that capture the latest consumer trends and exploit minimal production lead times to match supply with uncertain demand. Fast fashion is a clothing production strategy that emphasizes moving high-end catwalk trends into stores in the shortest amount of time possible at the cheapest possible price point. It was introduced in 1980s and ’90s by brands like Zara and Benetton, and gained notoriety over the past decade with stores like Forever21 and H&M. Now, fast fashion a bona fide juggernaut. H&M—which has over 2,200 stores globally—can design, manufacture, and distribute new products in as little as three weeks, a timeline that allows the company to remain agile and at the forefront of trends, and to constantly update its massive inventory. Low-grade fabrics, cheap labor from over-seas, and flimsy construction allow the company to keep prices bargain-basement low, a key factor in luring customers back weekly or even daily to check out the always-new inventory. Why pay $25 at Nordstrom for a T-shirt that’s available at H&M for $4.95?

2.3 FAST FASHION BRAND STRATEGIES

Firms in the fashion apparel industry such as Zara, H&M, and Benetton have increasingly embraced the philosophy of “fast fashion” retailing (Passariello2008, Rohwedder and Johnson 2008). Generally speaking, a fast fashion system combines at least two components:

1. Short production and distribution lead times, enabling a close matching of supply with uncertain demand (which we refer to as quick response techniques); 2. Highly fashionable (“trendy”) product design (which we refer to as enhanced design techniques).

14 Short lead times are enabled through a combination of localized production, sophisticated information systems that facilitate frequent inventory monitoring and replenishment, and expedited distribution methods. For example, Zara, primarily a European retailer, produces the majority of its designs in costly European and North African factories (rather than outsourcing to less expensive Asian facilities), and continuously monitors inventory levels in stores to effectively match supply and demand (Ghemawat and Nueno 2003, Ferdows et al. 2004). The second component (trendy product design) is made possible by carefully monitoring consumer and industry tastes for unexpected fads and reducing design lead times. Benetton, for example, employs a network of “trend spotters” and designers throughout Europe and Asia, and also pays close attention to seasonal fashion shows in Europe (Meichtry 2007).

From an operational perspective, quick response strategies have been relatively well studied, and are known to yield significant value to firms by better matching supply and demand (see, e.g., Fisher and Raman 1996, Eppen and Iyer 1997, Caro and Martínez-de-Albéniz 2010, Caro and Gallien 2010) and by influencing consumer purchasing behavior by reducing the frequency and severity of season-ending clearance sales (Cachon and Swinney 2009). However, the second component of fast fashion systems—creating trendy, highly fashionable products—has received far less attention. Indeed, despite the intense recent interest in lead time reduction, Meichtry (2007) describes how some firms are attempting to focus on design and develop trendier products without reducing their production lead times because of the difficulties (both logistical and cultural) that can accompany drastically redesigning the supply network.

Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of American Vogue (Vogue, 2011) has credited Zara for creating a „seasonless cycle for fashion‟. Zara has with the help of computer technology been able to spot new trends and produce about ten thousand new products a year, causing the shelf life of a garment to fall from six months to a couple of weeks. (Thomas 2007, p.316) Zara is also one of the brands that have made the two seasons, Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter more obsolete and the fashion customer is becoming more and more used to this. (Roberts, 2010) The fast fashion brands have changed customer’s expectations concerning speed and variety and showing that style is possible at low prices. Even loyal high-end customers have started to mix their luxury fashion with fast fashion. Attracted by the speed at which new styles are in stores and the fun of buying 10 cheap knockoffs for the price of one authentic jacket, many wealthy consumers are becoming loyal to fast fashion as well.‟ (Rohwedder, 2004, p.1)

15 2.4 FASHION CONSUMPTION

Fashion consumption is the practice of purchasing and adorning oneself with fashion garments and it is inextricably linked to all aspects of living in an affluent modern society. The origins of dress and adornment are debated within fashion literature. There are four key theories are commonly explored by fashion theorists. These theories are based on whether the need for dress emerged from the desire for symbolic adornment, protection from the environment, social modesty or from the desire to be immodest for the purpose of attraction and procreation

There are additional factors increasing the rate and volume of fashion garment consumption. From the production angle, manufacturing developments within the fashion industry such as increased production speed and access to cheaper labour have enabled garment prices to drop and consequently, consumers can afford to buy more garments for their money. They are buying in binges rather than making more discerning purchasing decisions. This increase in the speed and volume of production does not equate to an increase in the diversity of fashion garment styles or the quality of their manufacture.

In the book Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash, Susan Strasser, a professor of history at the University of Delaware, traces the “progressive obsolescence” of clothing and other consumer goods to the 1920s. Before then, and especially during World War I, most clothing was repaired, mended, or tailored to fit other family members, or recycled within the home as rags or quilts. During the war, clothing manufacturers reduced the varieties, sizes, and colors of their productions and even urged designers to create styles that would use less fabric and avoid needless decoration. By the mid-1920s consumerism was back in style. Industrialization grew in the twentieth century, providing the means of increased production of all consumer goods. During World War II, consumption rose with increased employment as the United States mobilized for the war. The production and consumption of many household goods, including clothing, grew by 10–15% even in the middle of the war and continues to expand to this day. Industrialization brought consumerism with it as an integral part of the economy. Economic growth came to depend on continued marketing of new products and disposal of old ones that are thrown away simply because stylistic norms promote their obsolescence.

16 The textile and fashion consumption in the world has been consistently increasing over the years. According to the World Apparel Fiber Consumption Survey 2005-2008 by Food And Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and International Cotton Advisory Committee, “Encompassing an annual average growth of the world gross domestic product (GDP) of 4.2% during 2000 - 2007, per capita world fiber consumption increased by nearly 35%, from 8.3 kilograms in 2000 to 11.1 kilograms in 2007. However, the economic stagnation in developed countries in 2008 resulted in a reduced rate of GDP growth for the world (3%), and a 6.4% contraction in per capita world fiber consumption, to 10.4 kilograms” (Food and Agricultural Organization, UN, 2011). According to “The Fiber Year 2011”, the annual report of the Dutch manmade fibre manufacturer Akzo that provides a comprehensive survey on world textile industries, “The world textile industry in 2010 has experienced the most potent growth in twenty-five years. Manufacturing volumes of natural and manmade fibers rocketed upwards by 8.6%, or 6.4 million tonnes, at 80.8 million tonnes. This corresponds to an average per capita consumption of 11.8 kg” (The Fiber Year 2011).

On the contrary, fashion commentators such as L’Oreal Fashion Festival Head Karen Webster, are lamenting the homogenization of fashion design- where the over-exposed globalised industry is suffering as copying seemingly supplements innovation (Webster, 2004). Fashion consumers are now offered limited stylistic choices from what appears to be a plethora of garments and thus their cravings for distinction are going unsatisfied. Additionally, these cheaply produced garments are not constructed to last and are deteriorating quickly and necessitating replacement and thus increasing the rate of consumption (Thomas and van Kopplen, 2002).

The issue of consumption and concomitant discard has been further accentuated by the societal behavior. With the availability of resources and the dynamics of consumption, the consciousness to utilize the goods to its full potential is reducing and economic growth came to depend on continued marketing of new products and disposal of old ones that are thrown away simply because stylistic norms promote their obsolescence (Claudio, 2007). Globalization has made it possible to produce clothing at increasingly lower prices, prices so low that many consumers consider this clothing to be disposable (Claudio, 2007), some call it fast fashion‟, the clothing equivalent of fast food.

So consumption is not for its own sake, but a vehicle for individuals to discover and display the characteristics of their personality, taste and individuality. Hamilton, like many economists,

17 presented the concept that consumption is a by-product of income generation, believing that people spend money on goods because they have the means (Hamilton, 2003). Joanne Finkelstein, in agreement with the social psychologists, believes that the consumption and adornment of fashion is a process of self actualization (1996). As fashion theorists Joanne Eicher and Mary Ellen Roach-Higgins explained, the meaning of an identity is social, and relates to an individual’s social status. The pursuit of fashion becomes the act of reconciling one’s identity in social terms. Consumption critics Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter elaborated, presenting the view that people consume either to represent how they are distinctive, or to socially conform (Heath and Potter, 2005).

Consumers react to changes in fashion, both in clothing and household interior designs. Seasonal changes in fashion mean that clothes can become outdated very quickly, and this encourages the replacement and disposal of outdated, yet good quality garments (Katkar & Bairgadar, 2010). This results in issues of over consumption and disposal of unused clothes leading to burdening of the resources throughout the world (Hawley, 2008). This presents a double-edged sword, in that while at the same time it stimulates the economy, it also gives rise to the increased problem of apparel and textile disposal. Piles of unfashionable, unsuitable clothing, not yet worn out but no longer wearable are further wasted (Joseph, 2001). .

2.4.1 TASTE AND NEED FOR SOCIAL DISTINCTION

Arthur Windermere says that one may think about what one wears or one may not. If thinking for oneself is freedom, then one cannot be free unless one thinks for oneself about what to wear. Everyone deliberates, but not all deliberation is thinking for oneself. Deliberation is the bare minimum of choosing. With deliberation one decides upon one course of action or another. But if the principles from which one deliberates are from someone else, the conclusions one reaches are not one's own; one's thinking is being done by another.

Consumer researchers have shown considerable interest in values because they are argued to be an important influence on behaviour. Having more materialistic values has been associated with using possessions for portraying and managing impressions (Belk 1985). Greater levels of

18 materialism seem to be associated with an understanding by individuals that possessions serve as part of a communication or signal to others informing them of who the individual is and what they are (Douglas & Isherwood 1979). Materialism may, therefore, represent a key variable in the development of a consumer’s involvement with products that allow the fulfillment of such values and assist in portraying acceptable images.

Fashion’s immediate social visibility and largely consumption orientation thus provides a potent site for exploring the construction of postmodern identity and cultural taste. Traditional understandings of the use of fashion as a social tool focus heavily on class perspectives. In Bourdieu’s analysis of taste expression, he argues that cultural taste is a reflection of the struggles for social recognition or status (Jenkins 1992, p.129). From this perspective, fashion is consumed as a marker of class status. Traditional understandings of the use of fashion in social settings have focused heavily on class perspectives. In particular, Pierre Bourdieu’s analysis of taste expression argued that cultural taste is a reflection of the internal struggle for social recognition or status (Jenkins 1992, p.129). Status recognition is inextricable woven with style: one’s social position incorporates dress, speech, outlook and bodily dispositions, in addition to political entitlement and legal location within that society (Turner 1988). Fashion is employed by elite social groups, to distinguish themselves from lower classes. Fashion then filters down through lower classes as they in turn employ their own habitus and attempt to follow the styling’s of their ‘cultural superiors (Bourdieu 1990). This filtering process within fashion was also explored by Veblen (1899) who argued that the imitation of higher society was used by lower classes in order to gain prestige. Bourdieu also emphasizes that cultural capital maintains the distinction and inequalities between different classes. Bourdieu defined the field of fashion as the unequal distribution of cultural capital between high and low ‘couture houses’, presenting the structural components of social structure in general. Fashion is then essentially contradictory, simultaneously providing both social cohesion and individual expression. (Finkelstein 1996). [ Marie Antoinette –Painting] source :philosophy of fashion by Arthur windermere

19 People can resist the hegemony of taste and culture, such as through the purchase of vintage clothing, but is seen by Bourdieu as a functional conflict that only reinforces the structure of fashion’s reproduction and distinction. A major limitation of this perspective is that both the groups and specific use of objects remain homogenous throughout all forms of production and consumption. It is seen, constantly during red carpet shows with people of high class showing of their clothes and mentioning who the designer is. Successful designers are usually associated with quality and finesse and most people would sort after this designers for their red carpet looks rather than play it safe with an upcoming designer.

The selection of clothes is influenced by a variety of conflicting motivations. The force that drives fashion forward is the desire to be seen both as individual and as a particular kind of person – especially the desire to be seen as in touch and up-to-date and daring (and thus wearing what is new). The countervailing desire not to be seen as weird or eccentric is the force that keeps fashion coherent – as fashion rather than unrestrained variety. For some people, this expression of attitudes and personality is carefully thought through; for others it consists of active conformity to or rebellion against the demands of a particular culture; for still others it is often entirely tacit. While designers have little interest in achieving intellectual coherence in their designs, they are acutely aware of the impression-creating effects designs will have in contemporary social environments, and thus how they can be used for social self-expression. (Claudia Eckert and Martin Stacey)

2.4.2 FASHION WASTE

Fashion waste refers to the inactive garments that are hoarded in wardrobes rather than landfill (Waste Profile Study of Victorian Landfills 1999). Garments become fashion waste when they no longer fit, cease to appeal visually and ideologically, or are superseded by a superior version. Once bought, an estimated 21% of annual clothing purchases stay in the home, increasing the stocks of clothing and other textiles held by consumers, according to Recycling of Low Grade Clothing Waste, a September 2006 report by consultant Oakdene Hollins. The report calls this stockpiling an increase in the “national wardrobe,” which is considered to represent a potentially large quantity of latent waste that will eventually enter the solid waste stream. According to the EPA Office of Solid Waste, Americans throw away more than 68 pounds of clothing and textiles

20 per person per year, and clothing and other textiles represent about 4% of the municipal solid waste. The issue of consumption and concomitant discard has been further accentuated by the societal behavior. With the availability of resources and the dynamics of consumption, the consciousness to utilize the goods to its full potential is reducing and economic growth came to depend on continued marketing of new products and disposal of old ones that are thrown away simply because stylistic norms promote their obsolescence (Claudio, 2007). Globalization has made it possible to produce clothing at increasingly lower prices, prices so low that many consumers consider this clothing to be disposable (Claudio, 2007), some call it, fast fashion‟, the clothing equivalent of fast food. Seasonal changes in fashion mean that clothes can become outdated very quickly, and this encourages the replacement and disposal of outdated, yet good quality garments (Katkar & Bairgadar, 2010).

This results in issues of over consumption and disposal of unused clothes leading to burdening of the resources throughout the world (Hawley, 2008) resulting in post consumer waste. Post- consumer waste is defined as any type of garment or household article made from manufactured textiles that the owner no longer needs and decides to discard (Hawley, 2008). These items are sometimes given to charities but often are put in trash and end in landfills (Textile Recycling Fact Sheet). Post-consumer textiles are often resold via a commodity market (primary consumer) to traders and then to stall merchants for resale at local markets to other consumers at lower price, exporting in bulk for sale in other countries that is what we receive in our flea markets in Kenya. In many countries on the African continent, over 80% of the population dress themselves in second-hand clothing. Western clothing is very popular and second-hand clothing is often of better quality than the new clothes offered (Ouvertes Project, 2005).

2.5 SECOND HAND CLOTHING

Cloth and clothing were among the primary historical commodities linking Africa with an increasingly globalizing economy and gradually altering the subjectivities of the population, creating consumers. The nineteenth and early twentieth century presence of colonial administrations and missionaries prompted a profound shift in the clothing worn in communities throughout the continent - particularly in areas where the predominant coverage came from skin, hides, and backcloth (Comaroff and Comaroff, 1997). Both voluntary and forced migration

21 brought men, in particular, together in urban and other concentrated settlements where new clothing and the wearing of western fashions became increasingly the norm, particularly in Southern and East Africa (Hansen, 2000).

The secondhand clothing trade in colonial Africa began in the immediate Post-World War I period with an influx of surplus military uniforms shipped by used clothing dealers in Europe and from production areas in the United States (Hansen, 2000:66). The amount of clothing appearing as cast-off articles increased throughout the industrial states of the North in the twentieth century with the initial success of Fordist policies and concomitant increases in disposable income. The countries of sub-Saharan Africa now form the world’s largest secondhand clothing destination, receiving 30% of total world exports in 2001 with a value of USD $405 million, up from $117 million in 1990 (United Nations, 1996, 2003). The post- independence period throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa was characterized by an increased emphasis on domestic production of textiles and finished apparel for local consumption. Governments turned to clothing as a visible and potentially lucrative expression of pride and solidarity in new nations. African print cloth was the focus of campaigns encouraging or otherwise imposing ‘dress codes’ or national dress, using domestic print cloth from these new industries. The importation of secondhand clothing was banned in Kenya, and elsewhere throughout much of Sub-Saharan Africa, as import substitution policies were adopted to strengthen domestic manufacture. Despite the ban, secondhand clothing began entering Kenya in the 1970s and 1980s as a consequence of regional political crises. The first post-independence shipments of secondhand clothes into Kenya were linked to geopolitical upheavals in Eastern Africa. Conflict in neighboring Uganda, Sudan, and Ethiopia resulted in increasing populations of refugees in Kenyan camps. Kenya is one of the largest importers of second-hand clothing (referred to as ‘mitumba’ meaning ‘onslaught’) in SSA .At this time, refugees from these countries flocked into Kenya and along with them came charitable aid in the form of tents, food, medicine and clothing. As more clothing came in through charities and churches it was also given freely to the urban and rural Kenyan poor who could not afford to purchase new garments. But, by the mid-1980’s, following high demand for cheap second-hand clothing, donors revised their distribution policy and started to charge for clothing items. It was at this point that it became commercialized and accessible to the whole population.Charitable organizations working with displaced persons were able to import used clothing to serve the needs of these impoverished communities during this period, with some of the donations

22 reportedly finding their way into surrounding villages and later urban areas as commodities for resale (Kimani, 2002:4).

Protectionist measures implemented after independence to foster domestic industrial growth were eliminated under trade liberalization policies begun in Kenya in 1991. Previously banned imports of used clothing were now legally allowed into the country for resale, and at prices far below that of new, domestically manufactured apparel. The absence of foreign exchange controls, eliminated restrictions, and reduced tariffs resulted in a rise in value of Kenya’s imports by nearly half between 1996 and 2000 (McCormick et al., 2002). The garment industry was the most noticeably affected by the surge in imports, particularly the widespread availability of secondhand clothing, or mitumba (ibid). Mitumba, literally “bales” in Swahili, denoting the form in which the secondhand clothing arrives in East African ports, were cheaper than Kenyan products and rapidly gained favor with consumers (Ongile and McCormick, 1996). This popularity was achieved despite the stigma of the garments being associated with “dead Europeans”or “kafa Ulaya” – an earlier term for mitumba.

The increasing volume of used clothes entering Kenya throughout the 1990s corresponded with the closure of the vast majority of clothing and textile factories creating products for local consumption in those sub-Saharan African countries which legalized imports. Secondhand clothing is seen as a primary cause for factory closure. While the importation of mitumba is viewed as a fundamental contributor to the cessation of domestic textile and apparel manufacture throughout the 1990s, the rise in the current export apparel market complicates this scenario. Many of the world’s largest importers of secondhand clothing are also among the top exporters of textiles and garments, including Pakistan and Hong Kong (Hansen, 2004:4).

2.5.1 How the trade operates in Nairobi.

These are between 60-80 second-hand clothing importers in Kenya. The majority of them are concentrated close to Mombasa port, at the industrial centres in Nairobi, and around the periphery of Gikomba market (the largest informal market in Kenya and the biggest second-hand clothing exchange in East Africa). These importers sell either the whole container, or a large number of bales (usually the most popular ones that are the ‘fastest movers’), to wholesalers. They, in turn, sell the bales to other wholesalers or direct to small retailers that trade from

23 informal markets in Nairobi. At Gikomba market, there are at least 100-150 wholesalers. They range from small to very large traders and they supply the majority of bales to the 10 000-15 000 retailers that trade at the market. At around 8am every morning retailers buy approximately 1-3 bales from the wholesale stores. At their market stall, they cut the bales and unpack the different qualities of clothing by separating them into 3 different piles. 1st camera refers to high quality clothing that is immediately purchased by a ‘cameraman’ who gets exclusive choice of the best items. 2nd camera clothing is sold for a lower price. Once the retailer has made sufficient profit from the bale, the remaining items – the 3rd camera- are usually ‘cleared’. This means they are sold in bulk to a small retailer who will often purchase up to 50 low quality garments. The clothes that have been cleared at Gikomba are transported to smaller markets in Nairobi and surrounding rural areas. At these new markets, once the original clearer has made their profit on the clothes, someone else will clear form them-and the camera process starts again (quality declines as the process repeats). Eventually, the final consumer (often in rural areas) will buy the clothing for a very low price.

2.5.2 Who benefits from the second-hand clothing trade

This section highlights the main beneficiaries of the trade, by tracing the various actions involved in the supply chain i.e. from commercial importers to the final consumer.

2.5.2.1 Importers

Commercial importers in Kenya undoubtedly provide a lucrative commodity that benefits many Kenyan people. On average, importers based in Mombasa and Nairobi import 2-4 consignments per month. Most buyers have a contract with two different suppliers, i.e. one in Europe (for a high quality product) and one in the US (for al low-cost product). Average profits cited per month ranged from £800-£4000 depending on the grade, origin and type of clothing sold. Commercial importers also provide an important source of employment creation. Most businesses employ between 3-5 local staff, as well as truck drivers, security officers, manual bale transporters and casual staff to run errands.

2.5.2.2 Wholesalers

24 Wholesalers also benefit from the second-hand clothing trade. In general, they make an average gross profit of Ksh 800-1000 per 45 Kg bale. However, financial gains are dependent on the size of their business. For example: • Small wholesalers buy and sell approximately 50-100 bales per week • Medium sized purchase around 150-300, and • Large wholesalers buy and sell 400-600 (whole consignments)

2.5.2.3 Market Traders

The following quote is from the Kenyan Department of Trade and Industry: “In terms of the traders, it is a misconception that they are employed. What are they getting out of it-sitting in the sun all day? It is disguised unemployment. At the end of the day, there is no dignity in this work.” In contrast, others estimate that the second-hand clothing trade directly or indirectly affects 5 million people through employment and income generation. And, when you consider that the current unemployment rate in Kenya is 40%, the impact of this trade on employment creation is very substantial. In Gikomba market, over half of the traders interviewed have previously been unemployed or recently retrenched. The rest have been in temporary or seasonal jobs (like construction) or working in low paid service sectors. For these traders, second-hand clothing has provided an alternative solution by offering them the opportunity to start their own self-employed venture. A frequent response by traders is: “I decided to create employment for myself. I sell clothes for my own survival and the survival of my family” In comparison to the low wages of unskilled and semi-skilled employees in the formal sector, for example, factory workers who earn around 4000-7000 Ksh per month, the majority of secondhand clothes traders relatively earn a much higher income with 10 000-15 000Ksh recorded as average monthly takings, But this figure accounts for gross takings rather than net profits and fluctuation demand for clothing results rather than net profits and fluctuation demand for clothing results in unpredictable daily, weekly and monthly sales. However, even taking this into account second-hand clothing still represents a productive and lucrative trade especially when compared to other trades in the informal sector. The trade is also considered a good training ground for business-in terms of learning marketing skills, direct sales and keeping financial records. Therefore, even if the trade stopped altogether, informal traders would still survive by transferring the skills they have learnt to setting up other businesses.

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The second-hand clothing trade has also increased opportunities for women to earn a living. At Gikomba market, women comprise a large proportion of informal traders, i.e. they make up about 60% of the trading population. This is mainly because the trade is relatively non-gendered and accessible to anyone regardless of formal training and access to capital. Women can also sell second-hand clothing at the same time as attending to many of their domestic responsibilities, something which is not always possible to balance in formal employment. The majority of female traders entered the trade: • To supplement their family income • Bring money into the household if their parents were unemployed, or • To become self-reliant by owning their own businesses and working for themselves These results indicate that the second-hand clothing trade in Kenya has provided an important opportunity for employment and income generation. Faced by the increasing cost of living, falling real wages, and rising unemployment, many Kenyans have found an alternative solution, selling clothing to generate a livelihood or diversify household incomes. It is also clear that entering the second-hand clothing trade is not just a last resort for the economically desperate during a period of extreme hardship. Instead, many have pro-actively entered the trade because it offered a relatively lucrative means of generating an income.

2.5.2.4 Spin off Employment

As well as providing jobs and income to informal traders at Gikomba market, the second-hand clothing trade also supports a large number of different types of employment: - from, repairing and ironing (where traders usually have a contract with tailors and ironers to add value to good quality clothing);  to - bag making (for traders to transport clothing to sell in rural areas);  security (to protect the clothing stored at the market at night and prevent thefts during the day);  manual bale carriers (who transport bales from warehouses to market stalls) All these activities take place on a large scale at the market site.

2.5.2.5 Consumers

26 Studies have shown that among African countries that are large importers, second-hand clothing usually accounts for over one –third of all garments purchased, and Kenya is no exception. In fact, by the mid-1990s, second-hand clothing accounted for 50% of the textile market; locally produced clothing took 30%; and cheap new imports from the Far East, Europe and the US comprised 20% of the domestic market. Considering, over half of Kenya’s 30 million people live below the absolute poverty line, with 56% of the population subsisting on less that US$1 per day, most Kenyans cannot afford to buy new clothes sold in shops, where prices are comparable to those in Europe or the US. For example, while a man’s new shirt cost approximately 350-400 Ksh from a formal retail outlet, a second-hand shirt sold at a flea market can be purchased for 50Ksh. So clearly, at a time when poverty is increasing in Kenya, second-hand clothing provides a very welcome cheap alternative to new clothing.

Most importantly, the availability of such cheap clothing has allowed very poor people to clothe themselves and their families who (in the absence of the trade) could not afford to buy any clothing at all. The majority of customers that have been interviewed, they were able to combine their purchases by selecting second-hand clothes for informal occasions and new garments from retail outlets for formal, ‘special’ occasions; this meant that they could save their limited resources to finance other basic requirements. Indeed, many Kenyans are only able to maintain a middle-class façade in the face of falling real incomes by relying on second-hand clothing. “At Nairobi dinner parties, smartly dressed Kenyan women will discreetly compare their mitumba purchases in the same way that British women appraise buys from the January sales”. (Vasager, 2004). The trade also gives customers the opportunity to generate an income by reselling items of clothing in rural areas. At Gikomba market, nearly half of the customers interviewed, supplemented their weekly wage by buying clothing in bulk at the weekends to take back and sell in their hometown. Finally, the second-hand clothing trade also offers increased consumer choice, regardless of affordability and consumer income levels, through the provision of a wider and different selection, quality, and style of clothing in contrast to the expensive and limited choice available at retail outlets. So, overall, second-hand clothing appeals to low, middle and high-income earners as well as different ethnic groups.

27 2.5.3 Impact on the local textile and clothing production

Much of the existing literature on the second-hand clothing trade has focused on claims by textile and clothing industries in developing countries, and their associated councils, Associations and Trade Unions, that the trade has a negative impact on local textile and clothing production in recipient countries. As a result, the governments of Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Tanzania, South Africa and Kenya have all at one time banned or imposed high tariffs on imports of second-hand clothing. In Kenya, the general attitude by government officials to the trade was very negative. Typical comments were “the trade is killing out textile and clothing industry”. A number of other factors need to be considered include: • The drought in 1995-7 that hit the cotton sector hard • The rise of cheap cotton lint producers e.g. Pakistan and India, i.e. Kenyan producers that provided the domestic and export sector went out of business • The collapse of the Cotton board of Kenya – this meant that domestic cotton was no longer subsidized by the government and cotton became far too expensive for manufacturers • import of very cheap Asian textile products in 1997-98 that textile producers could not compete with  lack of locally produced synthetic raw material • Trade liberalisation (the most important factor). In 1990 the economy was opened up to international competition at a time when Kenyan textiles and clothing were not competitive in price and quality. Overall, the decline of textile and clothing companies in African countries is less about secondhand clothing than about a combination of structural adjustment policies that encourage a rapid increase in import penetration via trade liberalization without providing incentives to promote production and employment. Nevertheless, local African markets are still unlikely to support any considerable growth of the textile and clothing industry unless countries experience substantial economic growth combined with a more equitable income distribution. Second hand clothe is the result of the emphasis of the current world on beauty and economy. Beauty and quality can be borrowed and business cycle can be developed to nowhere and even recycle it.

2.5.4 The unsustainable consumption of second-hand garments

28 It has been proposed that “investing now and storing clothes to age, as one does wine, is advised as a form of future vintage consumption that validates buying contemporary fashion”(Palmer & Clark, 2005). Consumers adopting the role of a fashion forecaster can result in overflowing wardrobes. This advanced consumption encourages the practice of hoarding where garments are retained with the hope of being popularized by fashions to come. Consumers can become overzealous and make impulsive purchases because the financial outlay is considered to be insignificant. It is difficult for a younger audience experiencing nostalgia for fashions before their time, unless they are encouraged to feel as though they have missed something important. Brown summarizes the phenomenon; “with hindsight, we know we missed out on something genuinely inspiring and progressive and re-edit our histories to include them” (Jones, 2005). It is a form of ‘faux- nostalgia’ that is also based on the fact that upon reflection, young people identify with certain eras indicative of certain values that align with their own. As young people do not experience true nostalgic feelings due to their age, they become highly educated and can enjoy nostalgia through becoming an informed authority. This younger demographic is choosing to adopt past fashion at a primarily aesthetic level, but are also appropriating the historical dress within the contemporary environment. In addition to the interest of regular consumers, fashionistas, designers and fashion commentators are embracing vintage styles to inspire a ‘new’ fashion direction or design. This has imbued the practice of consuming second-hand garments with additional market value through the inflation of their perceived fashion credibility. The editions of Vogue magazine and Harpers Bazaar regularly feature vintage pieces within their fashion pictorials.

2.6 SUSTAINABLE FASHION

The Brundtland Report supplied the most common and enduring definition of sustainability as finding a way to meet the current needs of all people today without compromising the needs of generations to come. Sustainability expert David Suzuki defined the task of sustainable development for individuals to be about assessing all kinds of human behaviour with the view to re-develop those that prohibit the development of a sustainable future (Suzuki & Dressel, 2002). In terms of sustainable consumption as explored by economist Paddy Dolan, the production solution is the relatively straight forward task of introducing sustainability regulations regarding selection of materials and manufacturing processes (Dolan, 2002).

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2.6.1 UPCYCLING

Up-cycling refers to reuse of a garment where its quality remains the same or is increased by the process, attempting to counter the common problem of recycling practices reducing the quality of the original materials, as occurs when glass is recycled (adapted from a workshop text for ‘Ever & Again, Rethinking Recycled Textiles: Introduction and Context setting for textile recycling’, Oct 2005)). Up-cycling confers an environmental benefit by reducing, or at least delaying, the addition of trash to our landfills. (Andrea Anderson, Holland & Hart 2009)

The process of up-cycling is more than just use old and raw material. By this kind of re-use the raw material is augmented into an object of higher status than the original object. It is about upgrading used material and making it more desirable than it was at the start. Reformulate the basic logic of fashion: making new of the old and create diversity by using unique garments with using existing design and methods. Every piece that is made according to this method, regardless of how many versions there may be, is a unique piece, because the materials that are used in it are unique. (Barbara Vinken)

Broken, damaged and redundant objects can be refashioned and value added through the process of up-cycling, which in the work from Plunkett and Sales on the use of decorative textile techniques such as printing and embroidery. As a sustainable strategy for design, up-cycling provides a designer with the opportunity to reassess the real worth and value of a waste material through the design and manufacture of new products. Rather than recycling, which can result in the downgrading of a material up-cycling seeks to further prolong the life and value of a product and material. (Allison Gwilt, Timo Rissanen 2012) Murray in the book Zero Waste explains that up-cycling textiles is not merely conserving the resources that went into the production of a particular materials, but by adding the value embodied in them by the application of knowledge in the course of their recirculation.(Murray, 2002)

Up-cycling method, or upward re-processing, is defined as bringing waste back into the consumption chain through design by placing it higher up in the chain than it previously was – this includes environmental as well as commercial and aesthetical value – while also accounting

30 for the product’s future (McDonough and Braungart 2002). Compared To recycling waste recovery strategies, up-cycling brings about the greatest change with the least amount of energy use. Via up-cycling, the source material moves from the lowest to the highest level of the production cycle. By allowing the largest possible amount of textile waste to be given new value, up-cycling solves the problems associated with fashion textile waste (Reet Aus Trash to Trend 2011). Up-cycling method also respects the principle of local production. The source material in up- cycling is usually gathered in the same region where production take place which, in turn, also contributes to resolving environmental and social issues related to the globalization of the fashion textile industry and its reliance on transportation.

[junky styling] source: www.junkystyling.com

Up-cycling is most efficient if used within the production company itself and under the same brand, sending all generated waste back to the production process. This entails implementing up- cycling in the design process of the main product – pre-calculating the textile waste generated and designing the patterns for side products so that they can be easily made of the textile leftovers. The availability of waste material in fashion design is essential in implementing up- cycling, since the design and production process is much determined by the material used. For the sustainable fashion industry to be cultivated, it is also important to increase the demand for sustainable fashion. It is therefore essential that sustainable fashion becomes a part of the regular fashion scene, increasing its supply. In terms of environmental impact as well as economic

31 viability and the complexity of the design, up-cycling is most efficient. Implementing a DIY (do it yourself) approach to up-cycling minimizes the environmental impact of the design and creation of a garment.

A common phenomenon in fashion over the last 20 years has been the tactic of reusing old garments into new creations. However, to call the haute couture techniques by for example Maison Martin Margiela as simply “recycling” would be an understatement. What happens in this process of reuse is that the raw material is augmented into an object of higher status than its original incarnation. If these garments are in some way “cycled”, they are “upcycled”. This concept, initially explored by the Austrian artist group WochenKlausur, is a process of upgrading used material, making it more desirable than it was at the start. “Upcycling is a procedure akin to recycling in which waste material and worn out goods are reprocessed directly into new products without being reduced to raw materials.” (Zinggl: 87) What this form of recycling is doing to fashion has purposefully been going on in the art world since Duchamp, and the raw material of used clothes are the objet trouve of fashion. The “upcycled” haute couture garments are often remade in such way that they leave the consumer object cycle. Their mundane and ephemeral status enters the timeless state of unique artworks with very few signs of the zeitgeist manifested into their re-sewn fabric. This process of reuse reformulates one of the basic logics of fashion; making new of the old and in the procedure get a singularity of unique garments out of general methods or designs. A kind of shortcut to the unique object, as the fabric itself is distinctively heterogeneous. This is a fascination of the single piece, as highlighted by fashion theorist Barbara Vinken, something that traditionally was exclusively reserved to the artwork. It is the initiation of a fashion based on duration rather than change. (Vinken: 143) In her book Fashion Zeitgeist she raises the approach on fashion design as one aspect of what she calls “post-fashion”: Every piece that is made according to this method, regardless of how many versions there may be, is a unique piece, because the materials that are used in it are unique.

2.6.2 FASHION DECONSTRUCTION

Flavia Loscialpo in her book “Fashion & philosophical deconstruction” ,“Deconstructionism” was the brainchild of French philosopher Jacques Derrida who named the process of breaking

32 down established forms. The term is normally applied to text but also describes breaking down conventions and normal boundaries. His idea was to contradict, challenge and destabilize the universal truth. It’s a fashion item that looks unfinished and the designer is still in the midst of experimenting with the product. Normally, the fashion item has exposed seams, raw edges, displacement of certain component and some sort of treatment to make it look distressed.

According to Martin Mcquillan, deconstruction is the rethinking of the conceptual and non- conceptual foundations of the western tradition. It examines the way in which Western thought is structured. Jacques Derrida suggested that Western thought is structured in terms of binary oppositions, the separation of conceptual material such as Man/Woman; Black/White equally. Deconstruction suggests that opposite concepts are constructions. Yes and no are words that represent opposing feelings but the words themselves are not opposites. Black and white represents associations that change from culture to culture. Deconstruction, Mcquillan thinks, reminds us of the different perceptions of each individual of the world. In an example, the term ‘Here and now’ is never identical to the actual moment in which one was referring to.

Deconstruction fashion is meant to challenge the traditional perception of beauty. In the 1980’s a generation of independent thinking made an appearance in fashion that incarnated a sort of ‘distress’ in the comparison to fashion at the times. The works resided not only in the undoing of the structure of a garment but re-thinking the functions and the meaning of the garment itself. It questioned the relationship between the body and the garment and the concept of ‘body’. As recalled by fashion experts, 1981 is the year in which both Yamamoto Rei Kawakubo showed for the first time their collection in Paris. Their appearance forced “the representatives of the world’s press to examine their consciences”. Rejecting every clichéd notion of what glamour should be, or the fashionable silhouette should look like, they disclosed in fact a new approach to clothing in the post-industrial, late 20th century society. Their major contribution consisted, and still consists, in their endless challenging the relationship between memory and modernity, enduring and ephemeral. At first, the austere, demure, often second hand look of their creations induced some journalists to describe it as ‘post-punk’, or ‘grunge’.At the same time, it aims to destabilize fashion with impeccable garment finishing.

In “Deconstruction Fashion: The Making of Unfinished, Decomposing and Re-Assembled Clothes,” Alison Gill uses the idea of deconstruction borrowed from Jacques Derrida philosophy. Gill suggests the fashion style of deconstruction, called “Le Destroy,” by the French, is an intentional effort at unfinished forms that are coming apart, recycled or transparent. The basis of

33 all deconstruction clothing is aestheticized non-functionality that amounts to anti-fashion. Gill then moves on to relation "deconstructionism" to "Le Destroy," describing the practices of anti- fashion (which has some deconstruction elements but is far too focused on negative critique of the industry), recession zeitgeist (which creates a political connection between the instability of eastern European ideologies and an instability of fashion codes), eco-fashion (which emphasizes the use of recycled/eroding materials to send a message for more environmentally friendly textiles), and theoretical fashion (most closely related to deconstructionist fashion in that it links philosophical ideologies to the practice of fashion). Gill claims that "deconstruction fashion liberates the garment from functionality by literally undoing," making the reader ponder exactly what the functionality of fashion is.

She states that deconstruction in fashion is somewhat like an auto-critique of the fashion system, revealing the draw and attraction of fashion such as the glamour, fantasy and exclusivity and technical aspects such as form, stitches and fabrication. Deconstruction, in a literal level, conotates the reversal of construction, thus the unfinished or destroyed look of garments. Deconstruction was first seen as a rebellion against fashion in the 80s and the acceptance and movement into the domain of fashion was deemed contradictory and deconstruction was seen as another superficial trend.

[from left: Karl Lagerfeld, Dries Van Noten, and Hussein Chalayan, F 2009]

Gill then goes in depth on the term "deconstruction" and its named critique by creator Jacques Derrida. Derrida claims that deconstruction should not be linked to a negative critique (it is not to be called 'destruction') on society, or in this case the normalized fashion industry, but rather the introduction of a new discourse in the way we view the working of social codes. This type of thinking may be related to post- modernism.

34 The works of Maison Martin Margiela are indeed classical artworks: exclusive. According to fashion theorist Alison Gill, Margiela “deconstructs the hierarchical relation that persists between the exclusivity of designer fashion and everyday clothes.” (Gill: 31) Indeed, Margiela’s upcycled garments are highly exclusive, fashionable, and pricy; they still represent the top of the fashion hierarchy, unattainable to most of us. Gill’s assumption that Margiela’s deconstructed garments somehow should bridge the gap between fashion and the everyday might be true on a material level, but hardly from a perspective of participation. The upcycling of fashion into art or the temporal readjustment into postfashion is interesting, but is not the main interest in this process. Instead, fashions of up-cycling puts a focus on postproduction processes open to people outside of the fashion system (the once “passive” consumers). With hardly any means of production to create the new, they can now recreate the old into the new, and still be in fashion. It enables new interfaces open for fellow amateurs (lovers) and other laymen to share their skills. Interfaces for new explorations of craftsmanship, outside, but still in relation with, the dictations of fashion. Gills’ interpretation of Margiela, she means that the act of unstitching can be defined as “a practice of ‘undoing’, deconstructionalist fashion liberates the garment from functionality, by literally undoing it.” (Gill: 35) This notion of liberation is no coincidence. It can trigger us to further explore the hidden logics of fashion that are at the same time trapped in and performed through every garment

For deconstruction to take place, the binary must be reversed, as showing that binary opposition at work is necessary. Deconstruction is a false opposition working, however, stopping it would restore the inequality and there would be no changes towards the unequal system in the first place. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the whole system of binary thinking and binary logic which is the only way the binary is said to be undone.Comme de Garcons, 2006, the design combines two opposing aesthetics giving both a presence but denying either totality. Both aesthetics are in play with one another.

[Rei Kawakubo]

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The general definition of deconstruction as a practice of undoing construction would mean the liberation of garments from its function, which is not applicable. Gill’s point is that deconstruction is the dressed down version for its application to fashion and that fashion could possibly have a prescribed function. [Comme-de-garcons –Paris Fashion Week-Rei Kawakubo : right]

How can we create practices of liberation and empowerment with the tools at hand – with old clothes and sewing skill? Perhaps this process opened by up-cycling can make us also update the world of fashion in small and beautiful steps, up- fashioning it with our own craftsmanship. We can use fashion as a workshop for collective enablement where a community shares their methods and experiences. Liberating a part of fashion from a phenomenon of dictations and the anxiety to become a collective experience of empowerment through engaged craft.

2.7 DESIGN EXEMPLARS

2.7.1 Jackson Pollock-painter He is a painter that practiced action painting that was part of the Abstract Expressionism art movement that was a term first used in connection with Kandinsky in 1919, but more commonly associated with post-war American art. Robert Coates, an American critic, coined it in 1946, referring to Gorky, Pollock and de Kooning. All were influenced by Existentialist ideas, which

36 emphasized the importance of the act of creating, not of the finished object. With regards to technique, what is meant is the formal process used in the production of their compositions. The elements of line, shape, scale, texture, and medium are great examples of what constitute form. The truth to their principle was determined by how "in the zone" the painter was at the time he or she was working on the composition. That is, how completely attuned the artist was in the piece with which they were involved. As well, some Abstract Expressionists painted representational images. In some cases, an Abstract Expressionist painter would leave the image unfinished. However, the composition was finished. In regards to Abstract Expressionist techniques, the creation of patterns and shape, colour, scale, and medium were very important. The work was less a presentation of colour than a manifestation of spontaneous lines and shape. A characteristic of many Action Painters was their approach to the canvas. Typically, the paint was aggressively stroked, poured, splashed, or thrown onto the canvas. The paintings of the Action painters were not meant to portray objects per se or even specific emotions. Instead they were meant to touch the observer deep in the subconscious mind, evoking a sense of the primeval and tapping the collective sense of an archetypal visual language. This was done by the artist painting "unconsciously," and spontaneously, creating a powerful arena of raw emotion and action, in the moment. Action painting was clearly influenced by the surrealist. Their works of art provide a good inspiration for the creation of my prints and the pleasure of working on a big canvas. The freedom to express emotions through art not is restricted. Their use of colour will help in choosing the colours for the 2013 women’s collection. The lines and shapes created in their painting provide shape inspiration for the collection to have a common ground. [Jackson Pollock- Converge] photo source: Google images

37 2.7.2 Vivienne Westwood A global icon as well as an iconoclast. In the 1970s, she electrified the fashion world with the launch of punk and went on to become one of the most inventive and influential designers of our time. Fashion to her became “a baby I picked up and never put down.” Known best for her willingness to take risks and to disregard conventions, she also has a profound respect for the past and such as corsets and crinolines and reinvents them in new ways. Another hallmark of her ever-evolving work is her use of thoroughly British fabrics such as tartans and tweeds to create fashion that gently parodies Establishment styles and the royalty. Regardless of how outrageous or provocative the result may be however, her approach has always been practical. She is driven by a curiosity about how things work. Vivienne Westwood revolutionized fashion, and her impact can still be felt. Her clothes are full of historical references, particularly to the 17th and 18th century, which serve as an inexhaustible source of inspiration for her. In addition, with her own technique for draping and pattern cutting, Westwood creates clothes with a characteristic volume. [Vivienne Westwood- red label collection] photo source : Google images

38 2.7.3 Junky styling

Annika Sanders and Kerry Seager established Junky Styling on Brick Lane in London. A clothing label, shop, and design team, Junky Styling built a reputation over the last ten years, not only for their tailor-detailed fresh styles, but for also encouraging customers to get involved in recycling. Junky Styling aims to change the way people consume clothing. Their work consists of one-off ‘wardrobe surgeries’ for customers as well as an internationally stocked ready-to-wear collection. The business idea developed from their experimentation with recycling second-hand clothes into club-wear; being part of the same generation this sounded warmly familiar.

[junky styling-up-cycling] photo source www.junkystyling .com

3 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design

39 The research design is exploratory survey research that is used “to answer questions that have been raised, to solve problems that have been posed or observed, to assess needs and set goals, to determine whether or not specific objectives have been met, to establish baselines against which future comparisons can be made, to analyze trends across time, and generally, to describe what exists, in what amount, and in what context.” (Isaac & Michael, 1997, p. 136). This study aimed at getting an in-depth study of the street style fashion based in Nairobi. It therefore fits the descriptive study appropriately. The components of the Research project included:

i. Investigating the fashion sense and style of young women in Nairobi ii. Examining the influence of fashion trends on young women in Nairobi and how they have adapted it into their own style iii. The impact of second hand clothing on its consumers within Nairobi. iv. The amount young women in Nairobi spend on shopping and how they dispose of excess clothing or old clothing.

3.2 Population of study

The population of interest in this study consisted of respondents who are within Nairobi city between the ages of 18-30. The population was considered because of their exposure to:

 fashion and style  Nairobi as the fashion capital of Kenya  the biggest informal market/flea market is in Nairobi [Gikomba Market]

3.3 Sample design and sampling design

The sample size consisted of 40 young women based within Nairobi area. The sample respondents were randomly selected from a sample frame obtained from the public, flea markets [toi market], stalls and department stores [Mr.Price] in two localities in Nairobi. The flea markets were considered because they have the greatest number of shoppers’ everyday compared to stalls and department stores where they had few shoppers that go into the stalls in a day. Deming argues that the quality of a study is often better with sampling than with a census. He suggests that sampling possess the possibility of better interviewing (testing), more thorough investigation

40 of missing, wrong, or suspicious information, better supervision and better processing than is possible with complete coverage.

3.4 Data Collection

Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire were given to respondents to fill in under close supervision by the researcher who waited to explain to the respondent questions not well understood and pick up the completed questionnaires [self administered questionnaires] . The researcher also collected data by sending mails to the respondents via their personal e-mail accounts that saved the researcher quite a lot of time and helped reach the respondents even via social media sites.

3.5 Data Analysis

Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Mean scores were used to determine the amount of money spent in a month by the respondents, the frequency of their shopping sprees, which shopping places have the most number of shoppers and what is the frequently bought items in their wardrobe. The data collected was presented in tables and pie charts.

4 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATIONS

4.1 Introduction

The study targeted 40 members of the sample that were based within Nairobi area the closest proximity to the researcher. Questionnaires were given to all members of the sample but only 32

41 members responded representing a response rate of 80%. The rule of thumb states that any sample which is greater or equal to 30 is adequate. In addition, studies never attain 100% response rate.

4.2 Demographic information

This section shows information on demographic variable of the respondents which is their age shown by the table below

Table 1: Respondent’ age

The above table shows the age groups that I used in the sample. The most number of people that Age group frequency percentage 18-22 years 8 25 22-26 years 17 53 26-30 years 7 22 Total 32 100 I interviewed were between the ages of 22-26 years.

Figure 1: Respondents’ age

42 figure 1: age group

26-30 years 21% 18-22 years 25%

22-26 years 54%

4.3 Expenditure on shopping

Table 2: Expenditure on Shopping

Amount frequency Percentage % 500-1000 5 16 1000-2000 8 25 2000-5000 13 41 Over 5000 6 19 Total 32 100%

The table above shows that a higher percentage of young women spend between 2000-5000 shillings on shopping in a month.

43 figure 2:expenditure in kshs per month

500- over 5000 1000 kshs kshs 19% 16%

1000-2000 2000-5000kshs kshs 40% 25%

Table 3: the most frequently shopped places

Shop Frequency Percentage% Flea Markets e.g. Gikomba market 18 56 Department stores e.g. Woolworths 4 13 Stalls e.g. Jamia Mall 6 19 Thrift shops e.g. Closet 49 3 9 Online 1 3 Total 32 100%

44 figure 3: Shopping Areas online thrift shops 3% 9%

stalls 19%

flea markets 56%

department stores 13%

Table 4: Awareness of sustainable fashion

Awareness on sustainable fashion frequency Percentage% Yes 22 69 No 10 31 Total 32 100% figure 4: sustainability awareness No 4%

Yes 96%

Table 5: where old unwanted clothes are discarded

45 Frequency Percentage% Donate 23 72 Burn 1 3 Throw away 3 9 Resell 0 0 Up-cycle 5 16 Total 32 100%

figure 5: discard of unwanted clothes

Resell Up-cycle 0% 16% Throw away 9%

Burn 3%

Donate 72%

Table 6: those who are aware of Up-cycle

Frequency Percentage% Yes 19 59 No 13 41

46 Total 32 100%

figure 6: awareness on up-cycling 70

60

50

40

30 percentage 20

10

0 Yes No respondents

Table 7: Those willing to try Up-cycle fashion

Frequency Percentage% Yes 31 97 No 1 3 Total 32 100%

47 figure 7: willingness to try up-cycling 120

100

80

60

percentage 40

20

0 Yes No respondents

4.4 Limitations of the Survey

The limitations of the study was the small sample size that allowed the researcher to get limited information and statistics, if the sample was larger the conclusive evidence would have matched a larger populations, behavioral aspects about fashion and style in general.

Conduction an online survey also had its limitations where respondents did not get back in time with their questionnaires. A number of them declined to fill in the questionnaire so the researcher had to work with what she had.

48 5 CHAPTER FIVE

FINDINGS, DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 FINDINGS AND DICUSSIONS

After conducting the survey through interviews and questionnaires it was duly noted that the pursuit of fashionable dress is motivated primarily by the social desires of the individual. Rather than consuming fashion garments to appease basic needs. A higher percentage of young women in Nairobi bought clothes for the sake of being fashionable and in trend without looking at the bigger picture of why they need the clothes, where they will take the old ones or the room to accommodate both old and new clothes. The researcher also falls victim to these tendencies. The typical Nairobi woman will shop till she drops.

While conducting an observation in Nairobi CBD [Central Business Unit] the number of women sorting through masses of second hand clothing and shoes from hawkers is indeed a great number. The women are in between the age bracket of 18-30; from students to working class women all bent down looking for clothes and trying them out in public. With a percentage of 56% it was noted that flea markets are the most visited places for shopping. The respondents said that the second hand clothing are cheaper, affordable and have a variety of clothing items. Its clear that second-hand clothing is becoming more desirable for distinction-seeking consumers who are dissatisfied with the homogenization of new fashion garments in the mass market and this is leading to its popularization by fashion at the current time.

From the survey the researcher also noted that a small percentage of Nairobi women are completely unaware of wasteful consumption, if they don’t go shopping its simply because they don’t have money but as soon as they get some cash a percentage of it will go into buying clothes and accessories and they term it as “treating” themselves after handworks’ month or day. Some are impulse shoppers that they buy and buy and forget about some important things that need to be attended to rather than materialistic things. With the sample of 32 respondents 72 % of the sample donates their excess clothes to make room for more clothes that they buy with a frequency of 5 to 10 times in a month.

On analyzing information gathered from the online survey on sustainability and up-cycling method, 59% of the sample had knowledge concerning sustainability and wasteful consumption.

49 [See table 4 and 6]. The rest have no knowledge of how they buy second hand clothing which is [clothes that have been donated by the West as a way of practicing sustainable fashion consumption] resold in the flea markets such as Gikomba, Toi and Ngara markets. They are blindly following trends, all they know is “that dress looks so good on me, I must buy it” or ‘blankets and wine is happening this weekend and I have nothing to make an entrance with”. The high percentage of the sample on willingness to try out up-cycling gives hope that Nairobi is the starting point to experiment and have people adopt up-cycling as way of practicing sustainable fashion

Closet 49 a company in Kenya that started having discovered lack of trendy, affordable, accessible fashion items online. It is the only company in Kenya that is practicing sustainable fashion consumption where people resell their own clothes and accessories in closet49 a way of de-cluttering their wardrobe and earning a few coins when their items are bought by other people. During my interview with Serah Kinyua a correspondent with Closet49, she shed light on the sustainability conference dubbed “Fashion Africa 2012” which was a vehicle to create a social forum that was aimed to raise awareness elevate the perception of fashion design from the continent and sustainable fashion. The idea for the conference was in conjunction with Jacqueline Shaw of Africa Fashion Guide and its aim was to create an opportunity to discuss and promote the full supply chain of African fashion Design, Textiles and Manufacturing and thus communicate this to a larger global audience through media. They also stock up-coming designer’s clothes and accessories, a way of promoting the new-comers. Kenya’s very own e-bay (online shopping site).

5.2 RECOMMENDATION

5.2.1 Building awareness

It is increasingly important that the objectives of sustainability be translated and clarified for a Kenyan audience. As the globe is warming, it is essential that consumers be made aware of the need to address all unsustainable behaviours with the view to challenge, re-evaluate and redevelop in a sustainable way. With regard to fashion consumption, this involves raising awareness about the ethical and environmental ramifications of new garment production to foster a willingness to engage in more sustainable consumption.

50 5.2.2 Engage a willing audience

The goal for sustainable development in the short term should be to position sustainable consumption as an ongoing political project (Dolan, 2002). The public needs to be exposed to and engaged by the political nature of the sustainability debate and consumerism in this way. Individuals need to be encouraged to respond to their personal politics and feel empowered to initiate related action. As campaigning is arguably a method of dictating action that captures an obligatory response. Allowing individuals to test and trial alternative fashion consumption practices encourages them to make an informed decision about the validity of integrating the practice into their lifestyles. If an individual decides to adopt a particular sustainable behaviour, they will do so because it aligns with their values and fits within their lifestyle.

5.2.3 Re-evaluating ownership

According to a recent survey conducted by Cotton Incorporated, approximately 35% of women clean out their closets and 27% do it twice a year. Rather than throwing out inactive garments or giving them away, they are simply organizing and consolidating them in order to make room for new garments to come. Garments are hoarded because they are imbued with the potential to become useful. Organizing a clothing exchange that is designed to be a catalyst for editing the fashion waste from wardrobes is a way of re-evaluating ownership of one’s wardrobe. This process aims to extract surplus clothing while affirming the lasting value of garments kept. Swapping inactive fashion waste for a new, active wardrobe reduces the need for new clothing consumption. The aim of sharing goods is to increase the intensity of their use while reducing the material intensity (Mont, 2004).

5.2.4 Government Policies

The Kenyan government should implement policies that govern the importation from second hand clothing. In as much it are getting little revenue from it, they should keep in mind about the local fashion industry that will generate more revenue and boost the Economy just as in the UK where the fashion industry is the 2nd most earning industry. Second hand clothing will also end up in our dumping sites e.g. Dandora

51 5.2.5 Re-opening of closed cotton mills

The government should re-open the cotton mills in Kenya that were shut down. They created massive job opportunities for so many Kenyans like cotton farmers, cotton pickers, and cotton workers to work in the mills and factories, managers, engineers, technologies and so forth. Kenya was among the leading exporters in Africa for quality cotton, reviving the factories will boost up the economy. Kenya will then have fewer importation of cheap Asian fabric and designers will use cotton produced in Kenya hence having Kenyans to purchase their designs because of the reduced importation of fabric that increases cost of design. Reduction of importation also means fewer carbon prints.

5.2.6 Swapping/exchanging clothes

The clothing exchange is an ideal transitionary strategy between wasteful consumption and a sustainable future. It revitalizes the familiar practice of sharing with the new values and ideas of the sustainability movement. This form of gentle activism empowers the individual because they test the experience for themselves and make an informed decision about whether to include it in their lives. As they become acquainted with the practice of sharing clothing, it is anticipated that they may apply this to other areas of consumption within their life, thus taking a larger stride towards sustainability

5.2.7 Up-cycling Fashion

This is a way of giving old garments a new look. Instead of going to buy new clothes or just clothes, people can give a new twist to their old garments, which elongates their cycle buying it some time for its place in your closet. Taking it to a tailor or a designer benefits all parties involved, however the designer will have a whole different approach that will make the garment unique, trendy fashionable according to the client’s needs. Holding events such as “wardrobe surgery” by junky styling also gives a whole new aspect of up-cycling. Wardrobe surgery is about inviting people to come with their old garments and showing those different ways and techniques to up-cycle them. This engages the audience, the more involving they are the more they get to know about up-cycling and ways of sustainable fashion consumption.

52

5.3 CONCLUSION

The research clearly shows how fast fashion has had an impact on the global scene as fast fashion brand keeps producing more and more cheaper clothes on the western world that encourages consumerism. This has taken a tall on the environment by letting the fashion waste pile up at landfills all over the world because they are few designers and organization practicing sustainability and sustainable consumption. It is however evident that in order to practice sustainable consumption the fashion waste from the west is being shipped to developing countries like Kenya as second hand clothing which only minimizes the problem at small percentage. In as much second hand clothing has provided a cheaper option and job employment for the poverty stricken, the local fashion industry in Kenya has a slow growth rate due to the public relying so much on second hand clothing and not giving a chance to the local design industry. Promoting Kenyan designers is promoting Kenya’s Economy and thus putting Kenya’s Fashion Industry on the map. This will also create job opportunities for the unemployed youth in Kenya.

By the end of the project what I hope to achieve is shedding light to the second hand consumption in Kenya, Nairobi to be specific. Hoping to enlighten and educate the public on sustainable fashion consumption by using this second hand garments to create a collection that reflects sustainable fashion that will give insight on how to up-cycle clothes using the philosophy of fashion deconstruction as stated in this paper. As an up-coming designer it is our duty to come up with new ways and designs that practice sustainability creatively and getting the public to be more involved with the movement of eco-fashion. We are the future of sustainable fashion consumption. It’s our duty to create a safer environment for ourselves and future generations to come

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Hawley, JM 2006, „Textile recycling: a system perspective‟ in Y Wang (ed), Recycling of Textiles, pp.7-24, Woodhead Publishing Limited, Cambridge.

Hawley, JM 2008, „Economic impact of textile recycling', in J Hethron & C Ulasewicz (eds), pp. 207-232, Sustainable Fashion: Why now? A conversation exploring issues, practices, and possibilities, Fairchild books Inc, New York.

55 Heath, J. P., Andrew (2005). The Rebel Sell; How the counterculture became consumer culture. Sussex, Capstone Publishing.

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56 Food And Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and International Cotton Advisory Committee, 2011, World Apparel Fiber Consumption Survey 2005-2008.

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AGOA, 2004, “Apparel Trade Under AGOA” http://www.agoa. info/index.php? view=trade_stats&story=apparel_trade&valuation=sme

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APPENDIX I

QUESTIONNAIRE

The researcher is a 4th year Bachelor of Arts in Design student at the School of Art and Design, University of Nairobi, seeking to study “Up-cycled Fashionable Clothing From Materials Sourced From Nairobi Flea Markets For Young Women” . Kindly assist by filling in the questionnaire. The report will strictly by for scholarly purposes only.

 Name:  Age group [ ] 18-22 [ ] 22-26 [ ] 26-30  Do you consider yourself fashionable [ ] Yes [ ] No  Do you follow trends [ ] Yes [ ] No  Where do you shop? [ ] Flea Markets e.g. Gikomb a [ ] Department Stores e.g. Woolworths, Mr. Price [ ] Stalls e.g. Jamia Mall [ ] Thrift shops e.g. Closet 49 [ ] Online  How often do you shop in a month

59 [ ] Once [ ] 2-4 times [ ] 5-10 times [ ] Over 10times  How much do you spend on shopping in a month [ ] 500-1000 [ ] 1000-2000 [ ] 2000-5000 [ ] Over 500  What is the frequently bought item in your wardrobe [ ] blouse/t-shirts/vests [ ] pants/shorts [ ] dresses/skirts [ ] coats/sweaters  Are you aware of sustainable fashion? [ ] Yes [ ] No  Have you practiced sustainable fashion? [ ] Yes [ ] No  What do you do with old, unwanted clothes? [ ] donate [ ] burn [ ] throw away [ ] resell [ ] up-cycle  Do you know about Up-Cycle Fashion? [ ] Yes [ ] No  Are you willing to try out Up-Cycle Fashion [ ] Yes [ ] No

Thank you for taking your time to fill in the questionnaire.

APPENDIX II

INTERVIEW GUIDE

The researcher is a 4th year Bachelor of Arts in Design student at the School of Art and Design, University of Nairobi, seeking to study “Up-cycled Fashionable Clothing From Materials Sourced From Nairobi Flea Markets For Young Women” . Kindly assist by filling in the interview guide. The report will strictly by for scholarly purposes only.

 Company Name:  What is the idea behind your company?

 Where do you source your clothes?

60

 Which age bracket do you sell to?

 What do you do with the items that are not purchased?

 A short brief on the sustainable fashion talk that you hosted at Sarakasi Dome.

 How did you come up with the idea?

 Where did you sort consultations?

 Did you achieve what you set out to accomplish?

 Will you hold other talks and conferences in the future about sustainability?

 Would you partner up with a designer who practices sustainable fashion?

 A short brief on the event you held for people to swap clothes.

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 Your say about Kenya’s Fashion Industry

 Comment about Nairobi street style, the good or the bad

Thank you for taking your time for the interview

62