WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2009 This Christmas, while shopping at JOY, a trendy store in the UK, I came across a dress that made me a little homesick and somewhat emotional. It was not sparkly or made by any particular designer. It made me emotional because it was made using Khanga, a textile that will always remind me of home. I love the Khanga, and in particular, many of the fashionable items people produce of it. When I was in Dar, I never really came across ‘these’ fashionable Khanga items, however my much talented tailor in Namanga did stitch wonderful items for me. The Khanga in fact, does not get enough credit for the amount of publicity it generates for Tanzania around the world. Designers like Mustafa Hassanali, Ally Rehmtulla and Doreen Mashika have been raising the profile of the Khanga at various locations worldwide, including of course the UK where I recently met Ally at the launch of his Khanga collection. Mustafa as well has had his ‘Khangalicious’ collection on the ramp in Dar last year. Doreen on the other hand, has just had her website completed and maybe not had so much publicity, she’s our little hidden gem, she’s from Morogoro, and she makes brilliant shoes and bags from Khanga and Kitenges and I’m sure there are many like her who are making waves globally but are not heard of in Dar... |