Ugandan label BUZIGAHILL presented its eleventh collection titled “Return to Sender” and its first-ever Berlin Fashion Week runway show in the venue of FÜRST on Kurfürstendamm. Bobby Kolade, the founder of BUZIGAHILL, was born in Sudan to Nigerian-German parents and spent his childhood in Kampala and Lagos. After studying in Berlin and Kampala and working at Maison Margiela and Balenciaga in Paris, he returned to Uganda in 2018 with the aim of creating sustainable production chains there.
The show started with a moment of collective silence, and then the following soundtrack began with spoken passages from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 17 languages, finishing with the sentence: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.“
Every item of clothing in this collection originated as a second hand garment, which was delivered from Europe, North America or Asia to the Owino Market in Kampala, Uganda. This is the largest second-hand market in the whole country. Once the pieces arrive there, they are first cleaned, analysed and transformed into unique fashion statements that have their own origin, context and attitude.
The overall impression of the collection is very individual and edgy. Deconstructed silhouettes, handcrafted patchworks and innovative cuts contribute to this. It is a pleasure to look at the creative combination of different garments and ideas. There are recurring elements in this line, such as the tucked maxi dress which is made by six different shirts. In addition to that, it is volumized with different pleats. This unusual design concept creates a new, urban-chic form of elegance. Furthermore, the creative use of denim remains memorable: this material appears repeatedly in various outfits in this collection. Looks made from this fabric appear bleached, layered or reinterpreted in fragmented wristbands as bold, eye-catching fashion statement. Moreover it is incredibly interesting to observe the mixture of streetwear elements like track pants with classic pieces. In that way a deliberately fractured aesthetic is created: for instance jeans are worn with sporty waistbands. It is a pleasure to observe the designer’s wide range of ideas and diverse, unusual combinations.
Worth of mentioning is also the fact that every piece contains an individual “passport” documenting its origin, material composition, production timeline, and ID number. That way consumers are invited to question and rethink consumption, ownership, and fashion.
The colour palette consists of a vivid mix of various shades of denim and blue, cream, beige, copper, silver, white and black. In addition to that, several bold, eye-catching tones are applied, such as red, orange and yellow. While some looks are kept plain, others unite a wide variety of nuances. Anything goes.
BUZIGAHILL was part of the Berlin Contemporary category in the Berlin Fashion Week concept competition, which this time offered international labels the big stage for the first time. This format was financed by the Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises as part of the Project Future state initiative (co-funded by the EFRE fund) and organised by the Fashion Council Germany.
The soundtrack of the show was composed by Masaka Masaka and the German parts of the soundtrack were narrated by Fashion Council Germany Chairwoman Christiane Arp (who also attended this fashion show) and Norman Westphal.
The show ended with the final words of the Un Delcaration of Human Rights. This was followed by a moment of silence in the room, which lasted only until applause filled the room.
BUZIGAHILL presented a highly individual collection made from second-hand clothing, which focused on exploring the origin and nature of the materials and global cycles. With this range, the Uganda-based brand creates new statement pieces from previously used garments that were sent to Uganda from Europe, America and Asia and returns them to the Global North, both symbolically and literally. We hope and would be delighted to welcome the label back to Berlin next season.
Review by Sussan Zeck for D’SCENE Magazine
Images Courtesy of ©Buzigahill, photography by Andreas Hofrichter
