Kupiga Luku

To these Kenyan young men, LV and Gucci are an unattainable dream; Nike and Adidas originals are just an inspiration; but a strategic assemblage of many “pocket friendly” looks (as they put it) is their everyday practice - or the wit to “kupiga luku” in Sheng (Swahili-English slang), meaning “dressing to kill”.

They don’t wear kitenge (an East African cotton fabric) daily, but incessantly look up to trending IG and TikTok chic, also Kenyan rappers/musicians, for everyday fashion. In fact, their funky hairstyles are deeply entangled with Africa’s history, social taboos and class systems.

They laugh, love and live with Chinese fashion, to an extent that I - as a Hong Kongese-Chinese - could not have ever imagined before actually coming to Nairobi. None of the existing Western theories can adequately explain their context-specific perceptions of creativity, originality, realness, authenticity, and fashionability.

P says he adores my style, something he “could never afford”. N thinks we from the “Global North” have access to everything from Western fashion (specifically Gucci - which I do not) thus can never understand them fully, which is, perhaps true.