199x Collective, The Cool Kids of Nairobi
“Jogoo wa Shamba” campaign produced by @199xorg
Featuring @kennedymirema @magdzaddy @__odiyo
Photography: @capturedbyodede
Creative Direction: @mbaalamwezi
Project Manager/ Lighting Director: @through_my_brothers_eyes
Style: @199xorg
Accessories: Upya na Ufufuo by @theresiatracy
Special thanks to @_su.lu_
Housed by @nk_creativeandmediacentre
The rise of designers winning international prizes, the emergence of investment funds, focusing on brands of African heritage, and a V&A landmark exhibition… With Africa’s creative scenes undoubtedly gaining more ground globally each year, young creatives are measuring the potential of their local industry, and are determined to tap into it. And Kenyan collective 199x is definitely one of them…
Led by their passion for styling and storytelling, longtime friends Dalton Odiyo, Kennedy Mirema, Magdalene Ondoro, Fred Odede and Michael Mwangi came together in 2020 to build what they felt Nairobi’s fashion scene was lacking: authenticity and visibility. 199x was born: a creative collective bursting with artistry and cool.
The young team is part of a new vanguard of African creatives, unwavering in freeing themselves from the Western gaze to celebrate their cultural heritage with pride. The result? Diverse and regionalised stories with a deeper knowledge of the continent: Africa by Africans, to the world.
We sat down with the entire team over a call to discuss their journey and intentions behind their work.
Meet Dalton, Model and Stylist, and also a student in International Relations
Kennedy, Model and Stylist (the thrift market specialist), and also a student in Horticulture
Magdalene, Model and Accounting in charge, and also a student in Microbiology
Fred, Photographer and Director of Operations, and also a student in Economics
Michael, Creative and Brand Director, and also a student in Environmental Planning and Management
How did you come together to start this project?
MICHAEL: There’s no better way to put that than saying it was destiny! We’ve known each other for almost six years. Fred, Kennedy, Dalton and I used to hang around in Nakuru, the city I grew up in—their university was nearby. Magda was the first person I connected with when I joined university later on in Nairobi. Hanging around together, discussing creative work and sharing ideas made us realise we all wanted to make something of our artistry. We started the collective in 2020 to make that vision a reality. Our first idea was to create a magazine. But obviously, producing a magazine required a lot of financing we didn’t have.
MAGDALENE: What brought us together before anything else was everyone's sense of style. Our love for fashion and style was the one thing we all had in common. Michael and I actually met at a fashion event at the university.
What was your experience building the collective in East Africa buzzing fashion capital?
MICHAEL: Starting out was mainly trusting ourselves and our vision. We were coming into the industry with a very new concept our friend collective Urban Pitchaz had already started.
To be honest, we didn’t know what we were doing for our very first projects. *laugh* We just wanted to style ourselves and come up with a very simple concept - cultural, with an editorial feel - that would resonate with everybody from the youngest to the oldest.
FRED: People didn’t really like or understand what we were doing in the beginning. But one project after another, they were more receptive, and we got our first clients. 2021 was a big year for us on that level. We got a lot of foreign clients. Noticing how people increasingly follow our vision pushes us. It’s an exciting movement to be a part of. We’re not there yet, but we’re learning.
Your campaigns tend to blend the everyday with whimsical imagery to make strong visual statements. What drives you to create such unique stories?
MICHAEL: Everything goes in our name 199x. We’re trying to build a community of innovators of the same decade who are bringing new perspectives of ourselves to ourselves, and the rest of the world. Growing up, Western influences prevailed over our own, be it on TV, music or radio. We obviously enjoyed that content, but now, we want our culture to be at the forefront in fashion, editorials, films and more. We want to show our cool! Our goal is to create new local influences the next generations will refer to instead of always replicating what comes from the West.
FRED: We’re trying to document fashion from our local perspective and show a different facet of Kenya. The fashion industry might not be as big in Kenya as it is in the West, but it’s picking up and we’re standing up for it to show there’s more to Kenya than drought, farming and wild animals. *laugh*
You mentioned being in the same movement with friend collective Urban Pitchaz who you worked with on projects like the Vogue Challenge feature in 2020, “The Ones Who Keep Walking” film by visual storyteller Amarachi Nwosu, and fashion films for established Kenyan label KikoRomeo. How did you start working together?
MICHAEL: We’ve known each other way before we became two separate collectives. We used to discuss creative ideas and ways to do things differently from what existed in our Kenyan fashion scene.
They created their collective in 2019, then we started working together once we created ours in 2020. Our first common project was that Vogue feature, actually. It was an intense one! We literally worked non-stop for 7 days in our home studio setting in Nakuru to make it happen. Then the Vogue feature happened. A lot of opportunities came after that for all of us.
We might be two different collectives, but we’re cut from the same cloth.
And what about your joint venture Active Boys Worldwide? Can you tell us more about it?
KENNEDY: It’s together with Urban Pitchaz and another collective Planet Dunia, and we all share that same vision of creating something bigger than us. We’re all working hard to become established fashion businesses, but we also want to shine a light on other creative spaces.
The whole idea behind Active Boys Worldwide is to document all aspects of culture in Nairobi and create a community around it. There’s a lot happening in other creative spaces, such as music or events. We’re not the only ones putting out great work. ABW brings together fashion, music, events, film and arts under one platform of creative freedom. As much as we are professionals with different expertise, we are also artists who want to express ourselves without limitations. That common brand is our outlet to display our personality. We want to experiment. At the moment, we’re working on creating our own merchandising.
Are there other creatives or brands 199x would love to work with?
KENNEDY: I’d love to work with American photographer Tyler Mitchell.
FRED: We all agree on South African photographer Trevor Stuurman.
MICHAEL: We’re all very inspired by West African and South African creatives. They’re Africa’s top-tier creators. We mainly draw inspiration from them—rather than looking outside Africa—to set East Africa as a greater creative force on the continent. At the moment, it seems like nobody knows what’s happening here.
Do you have a collective motto?
DALTON: We do! It’s mainly seeing the value in ourselves so other people can, too.
MAGDALENE: I feel like what we have with 199x is as timeless as futuristic. And that’s what is most valuable about our work.
MICHAEL: We’re just trying to create a whole movement around embracing ourselves to show people what we have on this side of the world. We’re the coolest people in Nairobi right now! *laughs*
Credits
Magdalene in Aman Kaftan dress by @sandylamu produced by @199xorg
Directed by @mbaalamwezi
Photography: @capturedbyodede
Project manager: @through_my_brothers_eyes
Location: @jemimabornman
Special thanks to: @sandylamu
Special thanks to : @_olaafrica_
Campaigns for IKENO produced by @199xorg
Directed by @mbaalamwezi
Photography: @capturedbyodede
Featuring: @__odiyo @kennedymirema @iamdeu
Style: @kennedymirema
Set assistant: @magdzaddy
Location: @jemimabornman @saba_artist_residency
Special thanks to @sandylamu