Kahindo Announces Summer Collection

In celebration of their 10th anniversary, the sustainable luxury clothing brand Kahindo is launching a summer collection inspired by the African heritage and culture of its founder Kahindo Mateene. The brand will be partnering with GIVEWORK and RefuSHE to ensure the collection is not only ethically produced, but will also help provide women in need a reliable and safe income. The collection is available for pre-order on Kahindo’s website and will launch this April on Rent The Runway.

Before graduating from the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago and partaking on Lifetime’s hit series Project Runway, founder Kahindo Mateene grew up in Africa. First born in Uganda, she has lived in Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Niger. Her experiences living across the continent and being of Congolese descent truly inspires her art and fashion. “I fell in love with fashion at an early age and remember playing with paper cutout dolls and being obsessed with Spiegal catalogs,” Mateene said in a statement. “My mother’s sewing machine and I became best friends and my love for fashion design was inevitable.” 

In 2009, she founded Kahindo with her pieces being praised for its unique, feminine and vibrant designs. What is most special about the brand, however, is its dedication to sustainability and philanthropy. For their summer collection, Kahindo partnered with GIVEWORK and RefuSHE to ensure that mission.

GIVEWORK is a philanthropic organization that is helping the brand secure work for women living in Mateene’s hometown of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The organization RefuSHE, who is collaborating with brand to create fabrics, works to provide refugee women in Kenya a safe, stable way to make an income. “Being able to give back to the community by providing jobs and a sense of financial independence for these women is so rewarding,” said Mateene. “With a regular income, these women are able to own their own homes and create and maintain a stable life for their families.”