Chichia London

London-based designer Christine Mhando graduated from Kent University with an honours degree, in 2002. After her studies, Mhando gained invaluable experience working for high-end designers as well as womenswear brands and suppliers for the high-street Mecca. With the knowledge she acquired, Tanzanian-born Mhando launched the label that bears her childhood nickname, Chichia in 2007. The Chichia ready to wear range is an imagination of both continents and cultures from which the designer was raised. The label’s signature transpires from the artful application of the “Khanga”, a traditional east African cotton printed fabric used by local women as wraps. The first Chichia collection was sold in London’s famous home of independent designers Laden Showroom quickly earning the label commercial success. Each collection consists of an eclectic range of dresses and separates in modern wearable silhouettes and styles in a variety of succulent colours. Currently stocked in boutiques throughout the UK and online, Chichia’s extensive press attention in distinguished magazines and independent newspapers have warranted the label a place on the London Fashion Week circuit showcasing in fashion events such as Untold and Fashion Diversity. Exhibiting at Swahili Fashion week in 2009 and 2010 consecutively, ARISE Magazine Fashion Week and winning the Ethical Fashion Forum Innovation Award in 2011, Chichia has been recognised as an international African brand that modernises and transforms traditional illustrative East African textiles into stylish and considered fashionable attire.