Page 28 - April-June 2024 Edition

16.08.2023: THE STUDIO
We moved our studio into Spear Motors House, where Creative Director Bobby Kolade once
worked as a teenage presenter for WBS TV. Who remembers Teen’s Club?
Entering this building is like crossing into West Germany in the 70s. Think: brown. The beams,
ceiling boards, doors, windows, lights and tiles… this entire structure was shipped from West
Germany and put together like a grand Ravensburger puzzle.
Completed in 1986, it was home to Spear Motors, the sole Mercedes distributor in Uganda.
Some things have changed since then. The showroom with shiny Benzes is now a (spacious)
beauty salon. WBS TV is defunct. But the neighborhood still has that sleepy feeling about it
despite being in the city center, and this young team is here to shake things up.
16.08.2023: BOTTEG
We often fear that a ban on second-hand clothes in Uganda would trigger a rise in designer
dupes from China. Knock-offs of LV, Dior, Gucci and Chanel are ubiquitous: These logos are
part of our visual landscape in every skewed and misspelt form they come in. Who’s surprised
anymore to see a Louis Vuhtoh T-shirt?

Curiously, the more black influencers and celebrities we see in the front rows at luxury brands’
shows, the more these brands pop up in downtown Kampala. These days, we’re spotting more
Bottega (or Botegga, or Botteg, or Boltega). China is watching. Black celebrity fashion in the
Global North has a direct influence on style choices in Kampala.

01.12.2023: THE MILAYA PROJECT
The stars of DROP06 are undoubtedly the Milaya suit jackets, which have been on a long
journey and took months to develop. Sourced from a bale of suits which originated in the UK,
the jackets were embellished with traditional South Sudanese embroidery by the Yangani
Women’s Group and Milaya Project at Bidi Bidi refugee settlement (an 11 hour drive from
Kampala).
The unique artwork is entirely inspired by floral forms and techniques from the women's own
Milaya sheets, which are traditionally used for dowries and celebrations. When they fled the
civil war in 2017, South Sudanese women carried their possessions wrapped in their Milaya
sheets. In these sheets, they also carried their artistry and pride.

Photo by: Ian Nnyanzi Photo by: Krumwa Martin

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