FASHION fi nd what I was looking for. I often had to wait for an occasion to travel overseas in order to shop. On the many occasions I got together with my girlfriends, this would be one of the topics we would talk about – how we wished that there were more places where we could fi nd quality tailored clothing. It was following one of these get togethers that I had my“ aha” moment and thought to myself, why not start a retail brand that could offer exactly what I was looking for. This essentially is how the idea of CocoLili came about.
FASHION fi nd what I was looking for. I often had to wait for an occasion to travel overseas in order to shop. On the many occasions I got together with my girlfriends, this would be one of the topics we would talk about – how we wished that there were more places where we could fi nd quality tailored clothing. It was following one of these get togethers that I had my“ aha” moment and thought to myself, why not start a retail brand that could offer exactly what I was looking for. This essentially is how the idea of CocoLili came about.
2) In a nutshell, tell us about the CocoLili brand.
CocoLili is a ready to wear women’ s brand offering high quality tailored clothing. Our design philosophy focuses on classic timeless staples and designs that allow for maximum adaptability and fl exibility. CocoLili pieces can be easily dressed up or down and can transition from day to evening. A unique feature of CocoLili is that we design and customize our very own bold and vivacious prints which provide a contemporary alternative to the wax print or kitenge but at the same time retain elements of the African narrative. We also pride ourselves in being a local brand with 100 % of our production“ made in Kenya”.
3) Who is the Coco Lili Africa CocoLili woman? In other words describe to us the kind of woman represented fashionably by the brand.
Basically the CocoLili woman is culturally diverse, stylish and sophisticated. She leads a cosmopolitan lifestyle, is a globe trotter and an effi cient multi-tasker who is always on the go. The CocoLili woman has two personalities-“ Coco”- the more mature, successful and self-confi dent woman who is not afraid to speak her mind, is unpretentious and comfortable in her own skin while being mindful of her femininity and desire to remain sexy and“ Lili”- who is more youthful, adventurous and just starting out yet at the same time she is ambitious and driven and lives life with intention and purpose.
4) Tell us about the clothes, the process of turning the sketches and fabrics into a complete outfit, where the fabrics come from and where the manufacturing and tailoring is done.
Eseri: Our clothes are timeless classic pieces with a twist. Our intention, when we design is to design pieces that our customer can still wear 4 years from now. For all of our collections we start with an inspiration, we draw from different sources depending on what we are inspired by at the time. Then we sketch variations, fi nalize them and do our print placements. We try to source all of our trimmings and fabrics from Africa but this is determined by availability.
Furaha: We start with an inspiration which we use to form the basis of our design brief. We then send the brief to the textile designer to generate prints. Once we have the prints, we proceed with the process designing the collections and
Our clothes are timeless classic pieces with a twist. Our intention, when we design is to design pieces that our customer can still wear 4 years from now
LIFE TODAY MAGAZINE Issue 2, No. 003 / 17 / March 2017 19