Designers show that Bark Cloth can be fashionable at Bayimba

Bark Cloth was worn by our fore fathers before the advent of the white explorers and Arab traders who introduced cloth to Uganda. But with what designers showcased at the Bayimba Festival of the Arts, we might just be going back to our roots.

Now in its ninth edition, Bayimba gets bigger and better every year. One of the highlights of this year’s festival that was on this weekend was the Bark Cloth Conversation collection that brought together 20 fashion designers under the Seed Uganda umbrella.

Seed Uganda an acronym for Skilled Expressive Entrepreneurial designers is the brainchild of talented fashion designer Ras Kasozi that brings together budding fashion designers.

They decided to use bark cloth, a fabric made out of the bark of wood that is unique to Uganda for a joint fashion showcase.

The Bark Cloth Conversation was an initiative with a purpose of unifying Ugandan designers and identifying Uganda’s fashion,” Ras Kasozi said.

Unlike previous fashion shows where different designers showcase their personal collections, this was a collaborative show with the designers showcasing works under the same theme.

The designers showed that Uganda’s nascent fashion industry as their showcase received a standing ovation.

Photos by Bwette Photography, published with permission from Bayimba Foundation.