It was a proud moment for Kenya when John Kaveke pranced down the runway to a rousing applause at the glitzy finals of M-Net Face of Africa (FOA) in Lagos, Nigeria, last Saturday night.

Accompanied by the finalists who were modelling his five-piece selection, the lanky designer was on cloud nine as he beheld his workmanship strutted on the continent’s pinnacle of beauty and fashion.

Zambia’s Lukando Nalungwe, 22, was thrust into the limelight when she took the crown and won $50,000 (Sh3.5 million).

Kaveke, a household name in Kenyan fashion circles, was one of the two feature designers for the evening, the other being the eclectic David Tlale of South Africa.

Coming from East Africa, a region considered a fashion wilderness in comparison to West and southern Africa, Kaveke was the rank outsider. However, by the end of it, his 18th Century Europe-inspired creation had stolen the hearts of many with its clean, quaint cut and classical appearance. The colour theme, largely blue and red, blended well and the hand painted-embellishments, done by Kenyan-based Sudanese hand-painter El Tayab, evoked a flattering finish.

South Africans

"I am the Kenyan designer that South Africans want to adopt," he said in jest as he pointed out how the glitterati marvelled at the fact that Kenyans too can design.

Kaveke studied fashion design in Kenya and Spain and worked for four years for other designers before venturing into his own label.

He has graced prestigious events such as the International Smirnoff Fashion awards, M-Net’s Face of Africa 2001 where he showcased one piece, Sarajevo Fashion week, Catwalk Kenya and Fafa Kenya, 2008 and 2009.

"A creative director of FOA, Jan Malan, saw my pieces at the Swahili Fashion week in Dar es Salaam, last year, and asked me if I could consider preparing a five-piece collection for the M-Net finale. I was honoured and grabbed the opportunity," says the soft-spoken designer.

He often highlights his contemporary style with Maasai beads and uses a range of fabric, from denim, leather, suede, knitwear, recycled fabric, silk to tie and dye and cottons.

"For my FOA collection, I took a traditionally male style and feminised it to express charm, individuality and vitality," he said.

Kaveke’s counterpart, David Tlale, voted South Africa’s most stylish person in 2008, also show-cased a five-piece ready-to-wear collection that featured last year at the Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week, courtesy of Arise magazine.

The grey leather and crimson collection had his ‘bold and defiant’ signature and was a strikingly haute couture (exlusive high fashion), complement to Kaveke’s utility-driven line.

Kenya’s strong presence was felt throughout this year’s season of M-net Face of Africa as 22-year-old Diana Nekoye Sifuna, a fourth year Bachelor of Commerce student at Kenyatta University, beat the odds to emerge among the top ten. She showed promise and exuded confidence, a quality that won her favour with the judges. Sources said the Director of The Shine Group, Megan Kruger, who was one of the judges, has invited the budding beauty to South Africa and offered her a job.

Sensational Kenyan radio and TV presenter, Fareed Khimani, presented the live finale with Botswana’s Kaone Kario, the 2005 Face of Africa. Meanwhile, Kenya’s Liz Ogumbo of House of Imani was among the designers from the rest of Africa who showcased a piece each.

Glitterati event

Kaveke was elated about his performance at the glitterati event. He said of his ready-to-wear collection: "I was taken aback when I heard the applause from the audience. My collection does not come at you instantly; it’s the kind of glamour and style that requires a second glance. I’m glad that the audience appreciated it."

The finalists also modelled the works of Ten Ace Designers from Nigeria as well as resort collections from Christian Lacroix, Emmanuel Ungaro and Versace.

Unfortunately, Kenyan pin-up, Diana did not make it to the top five, which is no wonder, seeing as she had a voluptuous body and stood out among the skinny models on the catwalk. Her height was also an issue as she is said to have fallen short.

Kaveke advises Kenyans to express themselves in their outfits, lamenting that we are a conservative people who are easily intimidated and never want to rock the boat by being too vocal.

He explains: "This complacency is evident in the way we dress, for there is no particular way we dress. The West and South Africans have owned their fashion."