In Conversation with Michatha

Annette Michatha is a steadily rising star in the fashion scene in Kenya. Self-styled as a designer, stylist and model, she is one of the most sought after names in the game. She managed to squeeze us into her busy schedule for a one-on-one.

What were your first broaches into the fashion game? Like basically, what was the canon event, the point of no return?

Mhmm. I never really know how to answer that question cause I’ve always been into fashion since I was a kid. And I’d try explain that to my parents, like I’d watch fashion shows with them and tell them I’d want to be a fashion designer. I don’t think they really got it. I now empathise with them cause they didn’t really know that that can be a job or something that people do with their lives. So they kind of pushed me into another career and change it so I would have better prospects. At the time I was like “okay then, maybe I don’t want to be that anymore.”

Damn.

But I kept it as a hobby. I’d just experiment with fashion but I was kind of limited because as a kid it’s your parents who basically dictate what you’re going to wear. So I’d want to buy some things, or dress a certain way but they were like “nah you’re not going to dress that way.” But when I went to Uni, I got that liberation from buying my own clothes and experiment more. Fast forward to COVID times, and that’s when I had the realization that, “Yeah, I’m just going to do this, it doesn’t matter anymore. We could all die.”

Real.

Right! Okay, so I started like re-evaluating my closet, giving away things that I don’t wear or I don’t want to wear anymore, doing my research and all that. Fortunately, I have very fashion conscious friends so like even clothes that they don’t want or shoes, we would just exchange. Like we already had that culture for swapping and exchanging clothes among each other. And so, when everything opened back up it was a full rebrand for me and a lot of my friends would tell me to start putting myself out there and start making videos and start styling people.

At first, I was a bit reluctant. I wasn’t really sure about it. One day, I was taking my friend to a designer so that we find someone who can tailor for him. I kept on asking where he was taking me and he had the mysterious response, “To my friend’s house.” And then when we reached, there was a whole thing set up and he told me, “Okay I want you to style this video. Don’t overthink it, just create the outfits for these two people.” So naturally, I was like huh, what? but then they had already put the whole thing together so I just decided not to overthink it and just let myself work. It ended up going really well and he really insisted that now I had proof that I should be a stylist and I also had to agree cause like, the proof was right there and I also felt good about the experience. So I really appreciated that push that really got me started.

That’s so cool. Having friends that see the talent we have and push us to chase it. My next question is how would you describe your personal style? If it can even be put into words

Umm. I think I’d say: Comfort, flashy, exquisite, different. Just not ordinary.

What’s the most important thing in your wardrobe?

I’d say, a durag. I think durags really save me a lot. Especially when my hair is a bit old. It also ties anyone’s look together. You can wear it with official clothes you can wear it with casual clothes. It just makes you look good.

What’s the most meaningful collaboration you’ve done?

Oof, the most meaningful one I’ve done… hmm… I’d say when I did a shoot with six clothing brands. I had made plans that day to style someone else, but that fell through so now I ended up styling myself. So, it was like an amalgamation of six Kenyan brands; Metamorphosized, Jipe, Apparel, Crafted, Akiba and Peni Mbili. And I was very honoured to have just been trusted with their clothes, with their image, with their brand. The clothes were such good quality, well tailored and everything. And they trusted me to have me do it on the spot and have their clothes at my disposal as opposed to renting the clothes. So it was very meaningful for me to have had the opportunity to make those outfits because there was so much and so I got to play around with a lot of style and get really good pictures taken, some of which were used for my feature on this publication as well.

Oh wow! That’s a cool way to tie things together as well. So, my next question to you is, as a fashion connoisseur, which styles or trends from the past would you like to see revived today?

I really liked 1940s fashion. With the corsets and the ball dresses and the glamour. I liked the thought that was given to dressing up for a big gala. Like proper properly. Like down to the- The corsets, the gloves, the ribbons, the make-up, the hats. I could go on and on.

I also liked the early 90s fashion; because at the time music and fashion were really close at the time. I’m actually a really big fan into how intertwined music and fashion generally are. Music and fashion influence each other quite a lot, which isn’t something that’s very commonly noticeable, but I really like it. The music you listen to really does have an effect on the clothes you’re going to buy or wear or how you’re going to wear your clothes. I like 90s fashion cause that effect was a bit more pronounced. Plus I also liked that there was a lot of layering and a lot of consciousness. What I mean by that is like, the jackets, the T-shirts, the jeans; basically everything was of better quality and lasted much longer than right now with the effects of fast fashion. It was all just more sustainable and you could get way more out of the clothes. Clothes that my parents bought in the 90s are still there and they’re okay and I can pretty much wear them. The craftmanship was so good and the quality was so good. Just a really good era for fashion.

This is a weirder question but is there something you think is an amazing fashion choice or accessory but don’t think you can pull off?

Hmm. Hm, hm, hm. Let me think.

Ama with effort you can pull off anything? That’s also an answer.

Yeah actually. I think that I can pull off anything. However, like I see someone wear something and it looks amazing on them but I know I couldn’t make that work. But at the same time, you could style it a different way to make it look good. However, but just on a light note, I really don’t like heels. At all. I feel yes, I can pull them off, but I don’t desire wearing them. They’re just not comfortable for me and one of my big rules is comfort.

As we wrap up, who is on your fashion Mount Rushmore? Your biggest sources of inspiration in your craft.

I’d say Pharrell. I’d say Skepta.

Tyler the Creator?

Actually no, I wouldn’t say Tyler.

Gasp. Hot-take. Why?

Cause with Tyler, he has a specific style so I can almost predict what he’s going to wear. With say Pharrell or Skepta, they’re always experimenting and trying new things fashion-wise. So yes, I like him and he’s very talented, but he’s not on my list.

Fair; so who else?

There’s this, I’d like to say model, who I follow on Instagram, who makes me feel like my fashion choices are not too crazy. I’ll send her to you. She goes by @sausagelord on Instagram but she’s called Annie Brooks. And then also definitely Virgil Abloh. He’s definitely there. An icon for me.

Finally, what do you think is the future of Afro-fashion and Kenyan fashion in particular?

Hmm. I feel like the community is growing. I can hope at least that more people can be exposed to different types of fashion. I guess the issue here is that we are not exposed enough to know that… Like clothes are just clothes. Clothes don’t have gender or rules. Any type of art doesn’t have rules. But I also understand that exposure is a privilege and it’s not anyone’s particular fault that they have not seen someone dressed like that to break boundaries. Also like this kind of ties into how unsafe it is and goes back to the government and all that.

But I hope that the community keeps growing and we’re able to be more exposed to Kenyan creators and brands and through that be able to support Kenyan brands and sustainable practices and being conscious about the environment by making smart fashion choices. That’s where I hope we go in the future.

Creative styling by her with a few items from CRAFTED Nairobi, Metamorphosized, Jipe Apparel, Akiba & Peni Mbili, stocked by Luku. Instagram handle @annettemichatha