From Thrifts To Hallway Runway: How Kenyan Campus Students are Redefining Style.

By Franklin Oyanda

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, once I have drunk water the next urgent need I am to satisfy, is clothing. In ancient times animal skins, and bone jewelry stood out as great pieces of fashion. This has changed over the years with more development on knowledge and creativity. When I enrolled for my university education one of the elements they forgot to highlight as requirements was plenty of good attire. I did not know I had signed up for a series of fashion weeks. My first weeks on campus were marked by new faces but greatly observable, were clean fits. Every walk to and from class was a moment on the campus runway. Spectators and models all attuned to the showcase of fine apparels. One aspect I must highlight about Kenyan Universities especially Chuka University is that dressing is not a casual thing. Students dress to impress. Kenyan University students are always on the move for new fashion pieces, good shoes, and fresh colognes. I spent part of my first weeks on campus hallways, examining looks and analyzing styles. I was able to spot suits, different looks and fashion styles such as Y2K, afropolitan and many other. All this experience helped me enroll for a separate short course in fashion spotting and design.

The campus hallway is dominated by vintage fits not to forget global brands such as ZARA, GUCCI, LOUIS VUITTON, CHANEL, SHEIN among others. These brands have been associated with great sophisticated pieces, quality craftsmanship and high prices. A Kenyan University student, wants high quality fashion pieces, a lot of them and a wide variety that they can always pick from. A Kenyan University student also wants to be unique. The campus runway has strict penalties for design infringement. They include stereotyping, disdain and also classism effects. Thrifting enables a Kenyan University student acquire all of the above without having to blow off their banks. When we speak about thrifting among Kenyan University Students we are led to many apparel stores. Famously we only had Gikomba Market that sources second hand apparels from overseas. The thrifting landscape has evolved and with its popularity, multiple thrift stores and markets have been opened in Kenya. These include Toi Market, Seven Sunday, The Street Clothing and Think Twice second-hand apparels. In these markets students are able to buy exclusive pieces at pocket-friendly prices. The thrifting culture has been a great aid for all fashion needs. It is powered by an engine of deep demand for appealing looks. Corporate looks, street wear fashion, Y2K fashion and smart casual apparels are all sourced from these markets. This is the hidden gem for most university students when it comes to fashion.

As a student creativity in thrifting helps you fit a good look of your desire on a good budget. The most popular campus fashion styles are; Street wear, old money and Y2K fashion. According to trends on social media, students have massively embraced and popularized the Y2K fashion. This is a revived style from the 90’s. This style features looks comprising, oversized graphic tees, baggy cargo pants, low-rise or vintage wide leg denims, crop-tops, chunky sneakers and leather jackets. A good fashionista knows how to manipulate all these into a perfect fit. Students seek for cool looks with such a style. The cherry on top of the cake for y2k is some good sunglasses. It is difficult to attend any fashion event in Kenyan Universities and miss a blend of y2k fits. The next popular style for Kenyan students is the “old money”. This is popularly termed as quiet luxury as it is rooted in elegance. It does not chase modern trends or flashiness. This style features quality materials and heavy creative craftsmanship. If you Know You know is the slogan for an old money fit. This style without jewelry is like a canvas without brushstrokes.

The next popular fashion style on campus, is the smart casual look. This features tailored blazers, clean denims, button down shirts, chinos loafers with accessories such as tote bags. As established from multiple organizations the day your tech guy decides to dress to impress he will be in this. They seek to achieve a polished ambitious look that is relaxed while still professional. The last one is street wear style. If we conducted a poll in the university on dressing styles this would be the most popular. This is a quick grab, throw it on, attend class fit. It also comfortable for most students. It features great sneakers, different colors and designs, simple attires such as hoodies and t shirts and bottoms such as jeans, sweatpants, jorts and shorts. This is a preferred style for a quick dash to class fit. It does not need much detailing. As we have analyzed all these styles can anyone still dress inappropriately? The answer is yes. Dressing in itself is beyond covering our nakedness. Dressing is a style, dressing is an art, dressing is a talent, dressing is a call.

Dressing is also governed by laws. In the University there are set laws governing how students should dress. You are expected to dress modestly, decently, and with professional appropriateness. There are various guidelines for both gents and ladies on how to dress in the university. In Kenya, Catholic University students are not allowed to wear dreadlocks or unkempt hair. Public Universities and Private Universities in Kenya have seemingly huge differences in dress codes. In private Universities such a Strathmore students have a very standard type of dressing. It is strictly formal. Private Universities such as The United States International University in Kenya are not too strict when it comes to dress codes. In the university every law broken is punishable. Penalties for wrong dressing in the university include restriction from classes or a booking with the disciplinary committee.

The current generation of students in Kenyan universities are redefining stereotypes and rules around campus fashion. They are inventing new looks and redesigning old ones. By blending global trends with local resourcefulness, Kenyan University students have turned campus into dynamic runways where identity, ambition, and self-expression seamlessly meet. I am looking for a Men’s patchwork leopard print micro flared jeans. That is the need. The answer will be determined by my thrifting expedition.