Designer uses leather and recycled fabrics to create bags

The Suave bag brand embodies sophisticated, effortless style and an artistic flair ideal for individuals who want to stand out from the crowd.

Suave Kenya Ltd, the maker of the brand, delights in releasing to the market products that are urbane, chic and with top-notch finishes.

Mohamed Awale, 27, the brains behind the designs, has mastered the art of using recycled fabric to create the elegant bags and accessories.

He rummages through piles of clothes at Gikomba market to get his raw materials, which include denim, tweeds, cotton and wool.

He blends these with locally sourced leather to make uniquely modish bags and men wallets that are traded in the country and through stockists in Kampala and London.

“By having leather, the quality goes up. That is why we mix it with recycled fabric,” says the International Business Administration graduate from USIU.

Mr Awale says no two bags are identical due to the unique materials used in making them.

It is the high craftsmanship standards that the products go through to bring out their exquisite look that have earned the brand a place in the international fashion space.

Client demands

The company designed its first bag of denim and kitenge in April 2013 and has since made improvements based on clients’ needs. The bags, whose prices start from Sh2,000, are lined with denim for durability.

Mr Awale, who says he draws inspiration from things around him, runs the company in partnership with IT specialist Osman Abdi and marketer Akil Ahmed, both friends he met in campus.

The fiction books enthusiast admits that growing up, it never occurred to him that he would one day become a fashion designer let alone an entrepreneur.

University, he says, changed everything.

He would often make trips to Gikomba to pick stylish second-hand bags that were much admired by his colleagues.

“They liked my style so I thought, instead of buying second-hand bags, why not make my own designs,” says Mr Awale.

Prototypes

Occasionally, he would request a cousin who owned sewing machines to make bags from prototypes he had designed.

After graduating, he worked at an oil company for six months where he saved enough to open a workshop situated along Nairobi’s Kirinyaga Road.

They started by making messenger bags, then backpacks. Soon the company could not keep up with the orders for custom-made products.
This forced the firm to narrow its portfolio to men’s wallets, messenger bags, satchels and backpacks.

Customers make orders by visiting the company website, identifying a design then sending an email with the product’s code.

Mr Awale attributes the firm’s success to the fact that all his designs are a reflection of his style, and he proudly walks around with the bags.

Early this year, his story was featured on African Start-Up, a programme on CNN that highlights the continent’s entrepreneurs.