These pink & black quilted floral bags from AVID STYLE are so precious. With their ‘grandma’ appeal, they’re good for day or night.

KELELE were offering beaded sandals, including this interesting take on the gladiator sandal with silver embellishments.

At only a thousand shillings each, EQO CHIQUE had some totes and clutches made from recycled plastic bags sourced from landfills

One thing the market wasn’t short of was shoes, but my favourite shoe find were these leopard print flats from SHAMII.

AFROVAZI had by far the slickest tent at the show, even though they were still setting up when I got there and I didn’t get a chance to go back to see the finished product. They had all sundry of items – clothes, shoes, statement necklaces & rings… At 3K, this asymmetrical necklace is bang on trend.

It was a colour-clash at ZURIE FASHIONS with their range of jewelry & accessories.

A grown-up sense of fashion could be found at Ethiopian-inspired MERON FASHIONS. This skirt-pant mix worn by Meron herself was more of what there should have been at the market. Ethiopian cotton and linen mix to make some of her really original (and cool) pants, dresses, and tops.

ROSE N. WAITE sold me the adorable hand-made brooch/hairclip (Ksh 500) I wore the rest of the day. Other offerings included these African-print bangles, wanted them all.

This BEAD NOIR square bangle is made by a lovely lady called Mbuiyu.

I probably lingered the longest at SHAKARA FASHION HOUSE for two reasons:

• the beautiful bits and pieces like these button hair pins in African-print. The stall was manned by this lady in this fabulous button necklace!

• the rails of vintage clothes. The owner is a doll.

This lady-in-mixed-print called Roselyn is from BEAD AFFAIR. You have to love her colour combinations and bold use of scarf.

A gentleman called NIKU SINGH is the mind behind my favourite jewelry find of the day. This necklace is an eclectic mix of jem stones and natural fabric (27K). The use of texture and play on size and proportion make Niku’s pieces high-end, but worth the expense.

I’m into chain-link jewelry, so this oversize take on it is super appealing to me.

One of the best things about NFM was the reasonable price point at all the stalls, and there appeared to be a lot of buying. There were fashion shows and music performances throughout the day on the stage, and of course food and beverage tents. On the interactive side, the MAKEUP LOUNGE offered information and product sampling. I heard there was a model tent somewhere, but by that time my shopping companions and I had discovered the SECRETS LOUNGE beer tent…

What was missing? No-one was selling hats, which is strange considering we’re smack in the middle of summer and everyone was melting. With wedding season coming up, it would have been nice to see vendors with bridal ideas (and the ever-popular head-toppers for wedding guests). Also, there were no interior design items, which I loosely consider to be an element of fashion.


Special thank-yous to Catherine Ireri, as well as Lynette & her NFM team.

By Annabel, DRESSUPNATION