2/54: Meet The Designer Transforming Ethiopian Fashion
What does it really take to launch a fashion brand in Ethiopia? I sat down with Addis Ababa-based designer Kunjina Tesfaye to find out more.
Welcome back to Africa Reimagined! This week, we’re continuing our journey around the continent and unpacking the fashion scene in Ethiopia. I have to admit that as we move away from the major fashion capitals in Africa, my knowledge of each country’s respective fashion scene is scarce. However, that’s the point of this series. The goal of 54/54 is to gain better insight into new markets through the eyes of designers and other creatives who keep the local industry afloat.
Helping me understand the Ethiopian fashion scene is designer Kunjina Tesfaye, who has spent the past eight years building her eponymous label from her home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s bustling capital. Her unique collections are putting Ethiopian fashion on the global stage, and taking her to new cities including New York, Cape Town and Moscow — where she most recently presented her 2024 collection at the BRICS + Fashion Summit, an annual event dedicated to promoting emerging designers across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Tesfaye and I had a great (and long) phone call during which we discussed the intricacies of Ethiopia’s small and nascent fashion industry. When she started out, there was no playbook on how to build a fashion brand in Ethiopia, nor were there many contemporary designers to look up to. What started as minor alterations rapidly transformed into a promising business producing full collections annually. Demand was growing, and Tesfaye’s brand quickly became a local powerhouse, with annual revenues hitting 950,000 Ethiopian birrs ($7,400), she said.
What I found most interesting was how Tesfaye was disrupting the local fashion scene. She was among a handful of designers bringing ready-to-wear to Ethiopia. “When I started out there weren’t a lot of ready-to-wear brands… we were used to designers being tailors. You go somewhere, show them what you want, and they make it for you,” she said. “That’s the mentality we had here.”
That opened up a lot of opportunities for designers like Tesfaye, who were bringing something new to the domestic market. However, it also came with a slew of challenges, which Tesfaye and I unpack in more detail later in the newsletter.
What’s inside:
How Tesfaye helped kickstart the ready-to-wear business in Ethiopia, and the ongoing battle to win over local consumers.
Changing consumers’ perception of ‘Made in Ethiopia’ and boosting its value in the country.
The institutions that helped Tesfaye turn her brand Kunjina into a business, and the importance of fashion education in Africa.
Let’s dive in!
Also if there’s an African brand or creative that you’d like to see featured in this series, please do get in touch.
