Designers

Design Brand To Know: Sevaria Kenya

By Isa King | June 10, 2022

Kenyan Brand Sevaria is a high fashion clothing brand headed by Jamie Bryan Kimani.

Jamie Bryan Kimani is pioneering gender fluid fashion and culturally inspired make-up in Nairobi with his brand Sevaria. Sevaria is a combination of seven, which is Jamie’s lucky number, and Macharia, which is his surname.

Since launching in 2018, Jamie has established a reputation for statement apparel that beams with individuality and self-expression.

About the brand Jamie says-

“It started with my own personal style. I don’t like being boxed into gender and couldn’t find the things I liked in the men’s section, so I started making clothes myself. I’m fascinated by East African culture, which is where I find so much inspiration for androgynous fashion. Even though gender fluidity and queerness are still taboo in Africa, I don’t like to focus on the negatives. Instead I focus on the positives by incorporating the stories of our heritages and tribes, such as using fabrics from the Maasai, to show how rich and beautiful our culture is.”

He used his make-up career as a means to save enough money to create his first collection, which birthed his brand, Sevaria. He highlights how he wanted his brand to be true to his context and thus very Kenyan.

Sevaria is a brand that prides itself in the creation of culturally inspired genderfluid pieces. Through this, they aim to shed light on African cultures in their entirety. Using silhouettes, textiles, style and creative direction to channel different African tribes, religions, music and art. All whilst fostering individuality and self-expression.

Another traditional element that Sevaria incorporates in their clothes is Maasai beadwork. Jamie grew up in Kiserian, and Masaai culture had a huge influence on my work as a designer. On many of his clothes, especially the jackets, you can see chain tassels that mimic the tassels Masaai make for adornment – except theirs are made of beads.

“For Susan” Sevaria’s Esthetically Edgy Collection

Details:

Sevaria presents the ‘For Susan’ collection denoted by the heartbeat line or electrocardiogram, a symbol of power, strength, endurance, love, passion and the ability to keep moving forward when everything in the world is holding you back. It also symbolises that time is passing and it is running out for some. This collection is inspired and dedicated to the designer’s (Jamie Kimani) late mom. “I wanted to translate emotion to the garments symbolised by hand embroidering the heartbeat line to the fabric to create a print. I hope that the garments evoke love, pride and strength to the consumers. The lookbook is shot by Kenyan based photographer Rogers Ouma. (@ojwoook)