“This work would not have been possible without the generosity, openness, and creative force of the people behind Kibera Fashion Week.
For much of my work as a documentary photographer and storyteller, I have sought to understand how people shape identity, community, and belonging within places that are often defined by others. My interest has never been in documenting Kibera through familiar narratives alone, but in exploring the creativity, dignity, complexity, and imagination that exist within it. Kibera Fashion Week presented a space where fashion was not simply about clothing or appearance, but about self-definition, self ambition,expression, and the power to be seen on one’s own terms.
I entered this project as an observer: curious, cautious, and deeply aware that I was stepping into a space that was not mine to own, but to witness with care. I listened to conversations not only as as a trends, but as testimony. Followed designers creative processes with a camera, a keen listening ear, and an open mind, understanding that what I was witnessing was far more than a fashion event. It was a collective act of creativity, a reclamation of identity, and a powerful assertion of presence in a world that too often speaks about communities like Kibera rather than listening to them.
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka.
Why this mattered
Throughout this journey, I was remind why I do this work. Storytelling has not simply always been about making photographs or collecting narratives. It has always been about staying, listening long enough to understand context, observing with patience, and honoring the lives that shape the story. The images created through this project were therefore not just documention of fashion; they are reflections of the people, relationships, dreams, labor, memory, joy, resistance, and reinvention.
“There is no barrier if you believe in your talent and take the next step. I want to encourage and create beauty, where people don’t expect it.”David Avido,
I may have come into this space as an outsider, but I was welcomed just enough to see clearly. That trust, carried with it a responsibility that I hold with deep humility and respect. My hope is that this work honors not only what was visible before the camera, but also the spirit, care, and vision that existed behind it.
This work challenged assumptions and expanded understanding of what fashion can be. It demonstrated how creativity can become a language of belonging, how style can carry memory, and how artistic expression can reshape the stories communities tell about themselves and the stories others tell about them.
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design.Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Training sessions,Panel discussions and film screening for both models and designers at Goethe-Institut and Nairobi Design. Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka.
KFW CREATORS DESK
Many of the designers incorporated and portrayed local issues for social justice in their design, such as youth empowerment, unemployment, queer identities and freedom of expression. Inspiration was drawn from local and traditional craftsmanship, tribal design, modern popculture, the queer ballroom scene, and more.
“We as youths have big ideas and big plans but we never get the opportunities to bring them to life due to lack of employment and when one gets one, it’s never what you want to do hence no full potential is shown, lack of self-esteem and courage to go on. My collection simply shows the big ideas we have – pockets – that we never get the chance to show and it never get to be appreciated – the empty pockets, “Hellen wanjiru Njengam, Designer of ‘Pocket Pennie’s swerve’
“The collection is inspired by black people and just our melanin in its various shades. An appreciation of how beautiful our melanin is and how important it is. Youth as our audience take pride in who they are.“ Joyleen Chepngetich, Designer of ‘Melanin’
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Millicent Oluoch. © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Millicent Oluoch. © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Fauzia Libuku © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Fauzia Libuku © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Calton Gandani © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Calton Gandani. © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Dan Otieno © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Dan Otieno. © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Hellen Njenga © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Hellen Njenga © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Joseph Ganda © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Joseph Ganda © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Mariah Kwamboka © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Mariah Kwamboka © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Peter Pius Ochieng © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Peter Pius Ochieng © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Brillian and Crisentia © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Crisentia Owuor © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Brillian Lutomi © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Sophie Barbier © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Sophie Barbier © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Joyleen Chepng’etich © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. #Joyleen Chepng’etich© Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week 2023 Designers. # Beth Kariuki in black © Anwar Sadat Swaka.
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fa © Anwar Sadat Swaka. shion Week 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka. 
Kibera Fashion Week © Anwar Sadat Swaka.
“As creatives working together, we realized that there was a need to reflect on how the industry we were in impacted our environment.”Mariah Kwamboka, Designer of ‘Bokka’
“I never thought fashion would create jobs for a Boda Boda rider, but when Kibera Fashion Week came, I gained clients and it also gave me another perspective of my work.“Frank, Boda Boda rider
