Kooroo

Kooroo – “to be proud’ in Amharic – is an affordable modern advanced contemporary brand of conscience featuring subtly African-influenced looks by Kenyan visionary Hebret Lakew. Kooroo’s classic silhouettes, rich natural fabrics and artful Africa-inspired embellishments add up to a distinctive, worldly sophistication.

As a young girl growing up in East Africa, Hebret was always infatuated with fashion. “I’d dress and re-dress my paper dolls for hours at a time, experimenting with colors, patterns and silhouettes,” Hebret remembers. “It was my joy, my escape – it just never occurred to me that fashion design was something you could do for a living – not in my world.”

That changed when Hebret’s parents moved the family to New York via Nigeria after fleeing political unrest in Ethiopia. “I loved fashion from a young age, but what I discovered in New York was the fashion industry – the business of designing, perfecting, manufacturing and marketing trendsetting looks for sophisticated, style-minded women,” Hebret says. “New York was the impetus and the teacher that inspired me to make a career in luxury fashion design.”

An energized and determined Hebret enrolled at New York’s renowned Fashion Institute of Technology. Upon graduating, she worked in several fashion disciplines and roles, before moving to Kenya and launching Kooroo in Nairobi in 2006.

Kooroo is the extraordinary embodiment of a responsible, sustainability-minded luxury label – a slow fashion brand committed to elevated quality and style, and just as importantly, environmental and social responsibility. As a central element of its ethos, Kooroo is devoted to the betterment of Africa and her people, employing local women and artisans in the region, providing gainful employment, fair living wages, and opportunities for further skill development and opportunity.

Produced in small runs to reduce wastage, Kooroo’s stunning affordable modern luxury apparel makes use of natural and biodegradable materials which conserve and protect natural resources.

“The earth – our land, seas and people – is the epitome of beauty. As creators and agents of beauty, fashion has a responsibility to honor its place in the world by protecting our planet.”

Hebret’s commitment to social responsibility includes putting her exceptional skill, talent and passion to work teaching and mentoring young up-and-coming fashion designers across the East Africa region.