Ealing K & FITP - 2024

Kenya and Friends in the Park was a beautiful benchmark moment in my career thus far, where I found myself being celebrated by not only my friends and family, but by my community.

I wouldn't exactly say that my brand's event participation invitation came about by mistake, as a dear family friend put me on the radar of the Festival's management, but it just grew from there and I found out I had become not only the first Black Fashion Designer in the UK to open a music festival with a fashion collection production, but was also the first fashion designer to attend a Kenya and African Friends in the Park festival.

The models and support crew were divine and in the hands of the logisitcal and creative magician, that is Michael (Burgess), the show was delivered beautifully.

Doing fashion shows can be very stressful, expensive and daunting, especially when you're trying to get collections together in the opening years, but there's a pride you cannot ignore when everyone delivers for you.

Even when you do get wonderful people volunteering their services for some of the items, an almost last minute run at a large British Music and Culture Festival like this in 2024, was a triumph of having the right support network, a wonderfully appreciative audience and on this July day, even the UK's normally mercurial weather shaped up to bring on the sun.

By the time I had got through the weekend, I had exchanged contacts with people, celebs, influencers and community thought leaders whom I genuinely admire.

It's an experience I will cherish, though I do not think it would be easy to repeat... certainly not without significant investment.