Liya’s design for life
YOU MIGHT NOT THINK Ethiopian weavers and a near-field communication chip (NFC) share common ground, but model-philanthropist-designer Liya Kebede has other ideas. Her 12-year-old resort wear brand, Lemlem, which works with artisans in her native Ethiopia and is entirely made in Africa, has now partnered with The Woolmark Company, the global authority on wool, for a new capsule where every item contains an NFC chip. Customers hover a smartphone camera over it and a prompt pops up on screen. They’ll then be directed to woolmark.com, where they can learn about the supply chain of their clothes: ‘From the fibre source in Australia to the artisans in Ethiopia who made the collection,’ explains Liya. ‘It’s exciting to use technology to support artisanal work.’ It might also be a sign of things to come as brands become more mindful about the size of their footprint and consumers demand transparency.
Lemlem, which means ‘bloom and flourish’ in the Ethiopian language Amharic, is Liya’s passion project. ‘Our ethos is about African artisans and African manufacturing,’ says Liya, 41, who somehow found time to walk in the Saint Laurent show at Paris Fashion Week and star in Salvatore Ferragamo’s autumn campaign alongside her work with Lemlem. She founded the brand to provide Ethiopia’s artisans with work, and save their craft from becoming obsolete. ‘Artisans were losing their jobs because people weren’t wearing handmade clothes – and weaving was dying,’ she says. Lemlem has grown and now makes clothes all over Africa: in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and, after recently launching its swimwear range, Morocco.
Liya, through her work with the World Health Organisation, found that aid can be problematic because it can’t sustain itself. Lemlem enables workers to lift themselves out of poverty: ‘By hiring people for a skill, you’re making them independent,’ she says. ‘They’re going to help their families, send their kids to school and be in better situations.’
Lemlem has also given clothes made in Africa a global audience – given it’s now stocked on e-commerce giants like net-aporter.com, mytheresa.com and farfetch. com. The new collection uses extra-fine merino wool and includes blanket ponchos, tie-belt lounge pants, wraps and blouses. ‘It was interesting for us to do something wintry because we use a lot of cotton. It’s all very cosy and comfortable,’ says Liya. Five per cent of the collection’s proceeds will be donated to the Lemlem Foundation, the brand’s philanthropic arm, to help improve maternal health and train women weavers in Ethiopia and Kenya.
So why does Liya think sustainable fashion is so important? ‘I don’t think we have a choice at this point,’ she says simply. ‘We’re all understanding the importance of supporting sustainability. It’s also about tolerance. We’re all here together and should all work together. We only have this one place and we’re all in it.’
From £130, lemlem.com