Design Brand To Know: KikoRomeo

'A heritage brand'

KikoRomeo is A Kenyan sustainable fashion brand that is in touch with Kenyan heritage, widely credited with transforming fashion in Kenya, and mentoring many designers and artisans over the last two decades, KikoRomeo meaning “Adam’s Apple” in Kiswahili, was founded in 1996. Transcending cultures and fashion trends, KikoRomeo puts sustainability at its core, striving to create longevity in each garment by using handmade and hand-dyed fabrics as well as hand-carved trims, sourced from the African continent.

Today led by mother-daughter design duo Ann and Iona McCreath, KikoRomeo shines a spotlight on the work of local artisans and traditional Kenyan crafts. Their fabrics come mainly from natural fibers including cotton, linens, and silk, as well as explorations into alternative fibers such as those derived from sisal and orange peel. KikoRomeo’s silhouettes are effortlessly elegant, and with attention to detail, they are treasured as works of art by all those who wear them.

KikoRomeo draws inspiration from their surrounding artist community, with many pieces influenced by the accidental merging of colors and mixed media that you might see in abstract paintings. Easily discernible in the brand’s signature cotton jumpsuit styles, the midweight cotton garments are painted and dyed by hand, their prints, shades, and cuts creating a kind of wearable art. Attention to detail and adoration of contemporary Kenyan culture and music can also be seen in each collection through details such as vibrant hand-painted graffiti motifs.

The brand was crowned the East African Designer of the Year at the Swahili Fashion Awards in 2014, received the International Creativity Award in 2010, Creativity for Peace Award, WOSWA (Women Students Welfare Association) Kenya in 2008 and in 2012, Ann McCreath, who is trained in Italian Alta Moda, was named as one of the “100 Women Changing Africa” by Arise Magazine, KikoRomeo continues to be an ever-evolving player in Kenya’s fashion landscape over two decades after its founding with a vision to bring different peoples together for humanity, using fashion and art as a medium. KikoRomeo’s designs enable conversations and build greater understanding between nations and cultures.