The Kenyan designers will participate in 8 weeks of tailor-made training at the institution’s renowned campus in Italy.
Ethical Fashion Initiative and Polimoda have announced a partnership that will award scholarships to 3 Kenyan fashion designers, building links between the fashion industries of Florence and Nairobi.
As part of this collaboration with the Florence-based fashion school, three Kenyan EFI Accelerator designers received scholarships for eight weeks of specialised training at Polimoda’s campus. Katungulu Mwendwa (Katush) and Mohamed Awale (Suave) have just arrived in Italy, and this week they will start attending classes at the Florentine fashion school and connecting with the Polimoda international creative community, while Louise Sommerlatte (Hamaji) will join them in February.
World-known for its excellence in fashion education, the institute offers a series of undergraduate, graduate, and short courses ranging from Fashion Design to Fashion Business and Fashion Art Direction, including the most up-to-date topics of the fashion industry such as Sustainable Fashion, Fashion Styling, Creative Direction, Trend Forecasting, and many others.
“We are very proud of this first for the fashion industry, a partnership between the UN and a world-renowned fashion institution. The designers in our Accelerator have the solid foundations of craftsmanship and sustainability, and this scholarship will push the designers to innovate, grow and create an impact. This is the next generation of fashion talent and with EFI and Polimoda they will reach new heights.” – Simone Cipriani, Head of the Ethical Fashion Initiative and Chair to the UN Alliance of Sustainable Fashion.
