Eryca Knitwear is a South African brand that creates luxury, bold-coloured knitwear designed to be comfortable, stylish, and long-lasting. The brand emphasizes slow fashion and sustainability, using locally sourced, natural fibers like merino wool, kid mohair, and Mulberry silk.
Founder Erica Morgan-Tanton’s vision was to create designs that go beyond ordinary knitwear. She says while the garments offer unparalleled comfort and sophistication, they are designed to be carried with a personal sense of style and individuality. She says Eryca’s garments are designed, manufactured and hand finished in Cape Town by local artisans.
“Our collections are crafted with the highest quality materials, providing luxurious comfort and sophistication. In addition to being thermo-regulating and easy to care for, wool is easily repaired, ensuring that you’ll get to enjoy your Eryca garment for years to come. It’s an investment in a sustainable, slow-fashion piece of clothing that you can feel good about having in your closet,” says Erica.
Erica says, “Life should be lived in full colour that is why we chose the natural beauty of knitwear, the creative artistry of pattern, and the bountiful energy of colour to tell our story.We create eye-catching and timeless knitwear designs that bring joy to your wardrobe, with each item created to make you feel confident and bold each time you wear it.”
LilaBare is a slow design studio born between Kenya, India, and the United Kingdom. It is a brand that creates clothing from handcrafted and recycled materials, emphasizing sustainability, cultural stories, and a unique aesthetic that blends structure with flow.
Ria Ana Sejpal is the founder and creative force behind LilaBare. Their designs are timeless garments with enduring silhouettes, and flattering fits that can remain stylish across decades while echoing heritage and conscious creation.
Their garments are hand spun, woven, loomed, dyed, and sewn by skilled artisans in Kenya. Their techniques reimagine tradition and engineer innovation in handcraft. Their conceptual and innovative transformation of materials include methods such as agricultural waste. Their latest innovations include clothing made from pineapple and banana leaves, old sinks and padlocks, used coffee grounds and much more.
The brand’s mission is to reinterpret and transform traditional crafting techniques, materials, and designs into something new by blending them with modern aesthetics, technology, and contemporary ideas.
Ria Ana Sejpal
“In the heart of the LilaBare universe lies a sacred land. A realm untouched by haste. Here, only ancient craft and green technology endure. This is a testament to what was, and what could be. This is a sanctuary where boundaries between the timeless and the radical dissolve. Every thread, every fiber, every form exists to connect us to the source of all things and is born from this holy place we call Mother Earth. Imbued with purpose, guided by the hands of artisans, and destined to endure. LilaBare is a tribute to the ritual of dressing, celebrating the beauty of what is made to last, and the spirit of what is made to move, says Ria.”
LilaBare uses cotton grown by smallholder farmers in Eastern Africa, woven by hand on wooden looms in Kenya and India, and sewn by skilled tailors in Nairobi. They work closely with every artisan and workshop, ensuring each thread, cut, and stitch is infused with intention, transparency, and deep respect.
“Our colours come from the earth, not a lab. From turmeric and avocado seeds to Nairobi’s red soil and tea residue, every pigment is extracted from botanicals, minerals, and food waste. Each dye process is done by hand in small batches, making every garment subtly unique and alive. These natural dyes are free of chemicals and age gracefully with time, just like the stories they carry,” she says.
Gallery N can be best described as an exhibition of artistic, bold, uniquely designed jewellery, that showcases handmade work of Nina Tryndina, founder and jewellery designer.
It is a brand that showcases a range of natural, fresh, timeless and clean aesthetic jewellery pieces. Some of the designs, exhibit an eclectic flair, deliberately blending vintage and modern design elements giving a captivating interplay and adding depth and character to the jewellery.
“My pieces are bold and experimental, shaped by a love for rough, stone-like textures you don’t usually see in jewellery. I don’t follow trends. I follow form, feel, and the story each piece wants to tell,” says Nina.
The Gallery N statement pieces are designed to be a focal point of an outfit, expressing individuality and creating a strong visual impact.
“I find inspiration in nature, stones, textures, and cosmic shapes. I then sketch and sculpt each piece by hand until it feels bold, balanced, and alive,” she says.
Born in Siberia, a large region located in Northern Asia, in Russia, but currently lives in San Francisco, in California, United States of America, Nina says the two different worlds have shaped how she sees and creates her jewellery.
“I’ve always loved sculpting, painting and dressing up, but I could never find the perfect jewellery to match how I felt. So I started making my own jewellery pieces,” says Nina.
“I believe jewellery should speak for itself. It’s not only about the designer, but about the energy it carries, and how it makes you feel. I make jewellery for open minds, outside-the-box thinkers, and anyone brave enough to wear art on their skin,” she says.
All Gallery N jewellery are handmade in small batches. Nina says, every ring, earring, or bracelet feels personal and intentional. She says that she keeps her footprint as light as possible by using mindful materials, and making only what is needed and uses recyclable, plastic-free materials all the time.
Sustainability, for us, has not been merely a practice but a transformative mindset. As we tuned in to the world of upcycling, we discovered a powerful tool for empowerment, particularly for those navigating life with limited resources and aspirations stifled by circumstance.
While the terms “upcycling” and “recycling” are often used interchangeably, they represent distinct approaches with different environmental impacts. Recycling involves breaking down materials to create new products, a process that, though valuable, can consume substantial energy and resources.
Upcycling, on the other hand, takes a different route. It’s a creative transformation that Instead breathes new life into discarded items, elevating them into higher-value products. This approach significantly reduces the demand for additional resources and energy, making it a more sustainable and eco-friendly method.
For us at Maisha, upcycling isn’t just a technique; it’s a core principle that defines our brand. We are not just crafting beautiful fashion pieces; we aspire to make a profound impact on the lives of those we support. Our commitment extends beyond the aesthetics. It’s a promise to be at the forefront of a sustainable style revolution, where every stitch tells a story of creativity, consciousness, and transformation.
Many individuals we work with come from backgrounds where aspirations often take a back seat due to limited resources. Empowerment through upcycling is a journey of self-discovery. By encouraging individuals to look around and recognize the potential in what others might discard, we instill a belief that they can build the life they desire.
The shift towards an upcycling mindset encourages resourcefulness, resilience, and the acknowledgment that beauty and potential exist even in what society deems as ‘waste.’
Embracing upcycled fashion isn’t just about wearing unique pieces; it’s about endorsing a sustainable style revolution. It’s about recognizing that every discarded item has the potential to be something more, and every individual, regardless of their background, has the power to shape their destiny.
Maisha by nisria is a non-profit fashion and design studio from Nakuru Kenya that creates unique and handmade clothes from upcycled materials. Maisha offers a unique approach to fashion; We challenge the linear treatment of unused textiles by employing upcycling and creative reuse, to transform old clothing and fabrics into contemporary fashion pieces.
Throughout the years I could always recognize how vulnerable young adults received the least attention from social organizations and contributors. When it comes to clothes, they are either excluded or they would receive worn-out clothes that are not suitable to wear. Hence for a long time, I wanted to create a project where we could teach young adults how to make their clothes from waste textiles and repurpose the worn-out clothes they receive into fashionable pieces.
The Maisha by nisria project was inspired by my grandmothers. Growing up I could always see how they transformed curtains into dresses, towels into rugs, pillowcases into sacks, and so on. Late 2021 I was approached by my late friend Randah Taher and she asked me if there was a project that I would want to implement that she could fund and support. She wanted to honor her late mother’s memory through a social project and suggested a couple of ideas, the up-cycled fashion project was one of them and she picked it without hesitation.
We started the project with one sewing machine and we flew our first designer, Shak the Label from Egypt to Kenya where he kickstarted the project and we started a journey of exploring and experimenting. We named it Maisha to honor Randah’s mom, Hayat, which means “life” in Arabic. This name also symbolizes our mission to help young adults transform their lives by learning a new skill that can be their way of making a living. Additionally, we’re giving a fresh start to clothes and fabrics, shaping them into something new and meaningful. Today, Maisha by nisria is a full-on workshop in Nakuru, Kenya that is functioning as a learning space and a boutique that produces one-of-one pieces that are sold on our website and in stores in Nairobi.
Under the creative leadership of Tausi Conde and the guidance of teaching master Karungaru Miriam, the project has flourished. The current team, which has grown significantly, works tirelessly towards its goals; More than 15 beneficiaries have already been part of the project, with some transitioning into full-time designers and tailors for the workshop, a testament to the transformative power of Maisha by Nisria.
