At first glance, Godfrey Katende’s journey seems like that of any other fashion designer pushing boundaries in the creative industry. But beneath the surface, his story is one of reinvention, resilience, and a relentless fight for cultural preservation. From his early days as a breakdancer, emcee, and graffiti artist in Uganda’s underground scene to becoming a leading voice in sustainable African fashion, Katende has carved a unique path that goes far beyond clothing.
For him, fashion is activism—a way to reclaim forgotten traditions, challenge Western dominance in the industry, and breathe life back into indigenous Ugandan materials like bark cloth, cowrie shells, and raffia. But his mission doesn’t stop there. Through his IGC Fashion brand, he’s educating young designers, upcycling secondhand materials, and using his collections to spark critical conversations about Africa’s identity, lost heritage, and the urgent need for sustainability.
In this powerful conversation, Godfrey Katende opens up about his unlikely transition into fashion, the mindset shifts holding African creatives back, and why he believes our greatest solutions lie in the traditions we’ve abandoned.
FAB: It’s only February 2025, which means we still have about 10 months to accomplish a lot this year. Let’s start with your recent engagement at the American Centre’s Creative Meetup, organised by the U.S. Mission in Uganda. Can you tell us about your experience? How did it go?
Godfrey Katende: It went well. This was my first time working with the US Mission in Uganda, and it was a great experience. I had the opportunity to meet some new creatives and share my background, as well as the work that IGC does. I talked about the opportunities we are creating for fashion designers and other creatives in Uganda, aiming to raise awareness and encourage participation in these initiatives. Beyond that, I also wanted to motivate and inspire them—showing what it means to be creative and sharing some of the key steps I took to build a successful career. Overall, it was a great experience. The audience was engaged, and it was a good opportunity for me to share my journey and my brand.
Godfrey Katende on What It Takes to Succeed as a Ugandan Creative
FAB: Awesome! Since you’ve already touched on the journey of being a successful creative, let’s dive deeper. In your own experience, what does it truly take to succeed as a creative?
Godfrey Katende: From my experience, one of the key elements to success as a creative is persistence. Many creatives tend to give up along the way, but creativity takes time. Some artists aren’t patient enough, and that’s when they go off. Being creative also requires sacrifice—it’s like nurturing a child, knowing it will grow over time. Another important factor is networking. You need to build relationships and connections, and those networks develop as time goes on. There are many factors, but in my view, patience, hard work, strong networking, and passion for what you do are essential.
FAB: As someone who’s actively involved in the industry in Uganda, you’ve spoken about perseverance as a key factor in becoming a successful creative. What do you observe in the industry today, particularly among young creatives in Uganda? How would you rate their level of perseverance?
Godfrey Katende: One of the main challenges is family pressure. In Uganda, art is often not widely accepted or encouraged by families. When you tell someone you want to be an artist, like a stylist for example, it’s not seen as a flashy or secure career choice. But it’s not just the family; the government also plays a role. There’s a lack of support for artists—there are no grants or public spaces where creatives can learn, develop skills, or network. Without these resources, it becomes difficult for young creatives to find inspiration or discover opportunities.
This also affects parents’ perspectives. Since there is little government backing for the arts, parents often don’t see a clear future in pursuing a creative career. They’d rather see their children become doctors, pilots, or engineers—fields that are supported and recognised by the government. As a result, creativity isn’t highly valued in the country, which puts pressure on both the parents and the artists themselves. With all this external pressure, many young creatives end up feeling lost and eventually give up on their passion.
Godfrey Katende’s Fashion Journey: From Hip-Hop to Design
Godfrey Katende: My journey into fashion actually started with other creative practices. Before I thought about becoming a fashion designer, I was involved in breakdancing (I was a b-boy), emceeing, graffiti, and beatboxing. These activities were all part of my life before I even considered fashion. But I believe these experiences played a big role in shaping the designer I am today—especially emceeing and breakdancing.
When I first started in fashion, my clients were from those communities, particularly the hip-hop scene. At the time, I was deeply immersed in hip-hop, and it was the support of that community that helped me transition into fashion. I began exploring fashion in my form 6, around the time when I was about to head to university. However, my family was facing financial difficulties, and there wasn’t enough money for university. I needed to find a way to support myself and help my family, but the skills I had in emceeing, breakdancing, graffiti, and beatboxing weren’t financially sustaining me. This forced me to look for new skills, and I started noticing opportunities where I could create and sell items. I saw that if I could make something, people would buy it.
So, I began searching for ways to acquire tailoring skills. I visited various fashion studios and spoke to tailors in Uganda, where many of them work on manual sewing machines along the roadside in my community. There’s a suburb in Kampala called Kazo, and I spent time there observing tailors, asking questions, and sitting with them while they worked, learning from their demonstrations. I started with making hats, shirts, and trousers. Gradually, I took my creations to my hip-hop community, and people began supporting me by buying them. That’s how I slowly transitioned into the fashion world.
Why Sustainability and Culture Matter in Fashion
FAB: Now, your work encompasses sustainability, empowerment, and streetwear, which is quite unique. I’ve noticed a lot of earthy, rusty tones in your collections. What’s the inspiration behind your choice of colours? Is there a specific message you’re trying to convey with that particular tone?
Godfrey Katende: My work is centred on educating and raising awareness about African culture and heritage. I aim to inspire people to learn about our traditions through fashion. All of my collections are rooted in this mission, and I incorporate indigenous materials, such as bark cloth known as olubugo locally, which is a traditional fabric from Uganda, as well as cowrie shells and raffia. These materials were once widely used in Uganda, but over time, due to colonialism and the influence of religion, they’ve been marginalised and even seen as evil. I want to challenge that perception and bring these materials back into the spotlight, showing their value through my work.
Growing up, I was exposed to the hip-hop community through emceeing, which taught me about self-love and African pride. I met lots of people who had knowledge about the history of Africa, how colonialism suppressed our pride and traditions. This perspective greatly influenced my view of fashion. I used to fear materials like bark cloth; bark cloth is a material gotten from the bark of a tree. It is used for so many things, and it was one of the major materials 100 years ago, but as I learnt more about them, I realised that these materials have a rich cultural history that needs to be celebrated. So that’s why my fashion is more earthy because I use natural materials—brown or rusty colours. I use the brown bark cloth, the black bark cloth, the cowrie shells, and raffia.
Also through my fashion, I do campaigns. When I started designing, I didn’t have much capital, so I turned to Owino market, Uganda’s second-hand market, where I found cheaper fabrics to work with. This led me to create pieces from items like old curtains, denim jackets, and trousers, which I would repurpose into new designs. It wasn’t until I met a designer from the UK in Uganda that I learnt the term “sustainable fashion,” and I realised that what I was doing—upcycling old materials—was actually a solution to many environmental challenges.
Since then, I’ve made sustainability a key part of my work. I use lots of old materials from the Owino market and indigenous materials or traditional materials from Uganda. So it’s a mix. I use those things to create awareness about the dangers of fast fashion to the environment and also to inspire people to research more about African history, the true African history that is not taught out there.
In addition to using indigenous and upcycled materials, I also run community outreach programs and workshops. Initially, I worked in sexual health education as a peer educator in my hometown, but after starting my fashion journey, I shifted my focus to teaching fashion skills. Through the “Fashion Cypher” program, I offer free workshops in communities, where people can learn the basics of fashion. This program is an empowering tool, providing young people with the skills to pursue careers in fashion or to use fashion as a creative outlet. It’s my way of giving back to the community, just as others once gave to me when I was learning.
IGC Fashion is built on three core principles: environmental sustainability, community empowerment, and cultural education. We focus on using natural and upcycled materials, raising awareness about the environmental impact of fashion, and educating people about the rich cultural heritage of Africa through our designs. Our fashion events include panel discussions, film screenings, and workshops on natural dyes and fibers, all aimed at caring for the environment. Another thing is the community and culture. We use those indigenous materials and use fashion to tell stories or to educate people or to inspire people to learn more about African cultures and traditions. And that’s the background of the garments that we make.
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How Godfrey Katende Uses Bark Cloth in Fashion
FAB: While you were speaking, you touched on something really important that resonates with all of us in Africa: the abandonment of cultural values and traditional techniques. You’ve made it a project to address this, but what do you think is the root cause of this? Why do we often view our traditional products and practices as fetish or inferior? What do you think is at the heart of this issue, and beyond education, are there other ways we can shift this mindset? How can we combat the programming that causes us to devalue things that come from Africa?
Godfrey Katende: I believe the solution starts with us as Africans. We have to be the first to see value in our own traditions and heritage. The reality is that only a small number of us truly know the depth of who we are, while the majority have been miseducated. One of the biggest reasons for this is that we no longer use our traditional education systems—the systems that taught our grandparents so much about their identity and way of life. The only education system is school, and in school, no one is talking about African pride. No one is talking about why we did the things we did then. I think one of the solutions at the moment is for us to research, to research the untold truth about the cultures and traditions we have.
There was deep science behind many of the things our ancestors did. Right now people are struggling. For example, today, the world is struggling with climate change, yet African ways of life were always in harmony with nature. Our ancestors were geniuses who were not just surviving, but they had found a way to live in balance with the environment. If we look closely, many of the solutions we need today already exist within our indigenous knowledge systems. And only this can motivate people to go back to their roots. You don’t have to go back but can incorporate those values into your day-to-day life because it’s the only healthy way to live.
Take bark cloth, for instance. In Uganda, it was used for so many things, including mummifying dead bodies. People were wrapped in over 150 layers of bark cloth, and 300 years later, their bodies remained preserved—just like in ancient Egypt. This practice existed in Uganda, yet it is not widely known. The tree that produces bark cloth, known as Omotuba, is often called the “Tree of Life” because of its multiple benefits. It provides medicine, enriches the soil, and, of course, produces bark cloth. People used to plant it widely because it naturally fertilizes the land, allowing for better crop growth.
Unfortunately, this tree is now endangered because its value has been forgotten. If we, as Africans, take the time to learn why our ancestors did what they did, we could see the solutions for now, and we could start seeing values for our cultures and traditions. This is why we must take the initiative to self-educate. A lot of this knowledge isn’t available online—it still exists within our elders and our communities. If we are willing to dig deeper, we can reclaim the true stories of our heritage. We just have to have the motivation to learn about our cultures and values and know the reasons why our ancestors did what they did.
Godfrey Katende on the Role of African Traditions in Modern Fashion
FAB: What’s your prediction for the future of sustainable living and sustainable fashion in Africa? How do you see the continent contributing to the global sustainability movement in 2025 and beyond?
Godfrey Katende: As I said, sustainability has always been a part of our way of life in Africa. The only reason we are becoming unsustainable is because we are adopting Western lifestyles—how we cook, how we dress, and how we consume. But if we truly valued our local traditions, especially in food and fashion, we could solve many health and environmental issues.
Growing up in Uganda, I remember wearing clothes that had been passed down from my parents. If my dad had an old garment, my mom would upcycle it into an outfit for me or my siblings. There is that system of not throwing things but valuing every little thing that you have and creating value from it. That mindset of resourcefulness is something we need to preserve. I believe if the systems we have in Africa are adapted in the Western world, which may be tricky, it would just be the only solution between environmental challenges.
The problem we have within our continent is copying. Copying the things that are coming from the foreign land. We have access to natural, organic food, yet we are replacing it with processed, imported alternatives. We have rich textile traditions, but many prefer mass-produced fast fashion from abroad. Our mindset is seeing lots of value in the things that are coming from the Western world. If we could see value in the things that we have, maybe we won’t even have issues with climate change.
Recently, I spoke with a deputy from the Kampala Capital City Authority who oversees waste management. While working on a podcast about bark cloth, I asked him about its environmental impact. He told me something remarkable—after 22 years in waste management, he had never seen bark cloth in a landfill. Meanwhile, landfills are overflowing with synthetic, foreign-made waste. That speaks volumes about the durability and sustainability of our traditional materials. One major issue in Uganda, and across Africa, is that people often prefer foreign-made clothes over locally designed fashion. They buy mass-produced garments from China, branded with Western designer names, instead of supporting African designers. This fuels fast fashion, increases textile waste, and weakens our local industries.
Worse still, Africa has become a dumping ground for secondhand clothing from abroad, contributing to waste and undermining local production. The problem isn’t just a lack of policies to regulate these imports; it’s a mindset issue. Many of us still see Western countries as superior, which makes us more accepting of their products—even when they harm our economy and environment. This misplaced respect has allowed foreign nations to use Africa as a dumping ground for their excess goods and waste.
The real solution is for us, as Africans, to recognise and appreciate our own worth. We need to value our local designers, our natural resources, and our heritage. If we truly embraced what we have, we wouldn’t just live sustainably—we would lead the world in sustainable living.
FAB: You’ve touched on something important—consumer acceptance of locally made products and the mindset that Western-made goods are superior while Ugandan or African-made products are seen as substandard. How do you think entrepreneurs—not just fashion designers, but creatives and business owners across different industries—can build trust and loyalty among local consumers? Because, honestly, many consumers have had their own fair shares. Sometimes local products are either too expensive or don’t meet functionality expectations. Meanwhile, the Chinese market dominates with affordable alternatives. So, how can African entrepreneurs strengthen consumer trust and loyalty in locally made products?
Godfrey Katende: I think one of the ways to build trust and loyalty among consumers is for African entrepreneurs to prioritise quality. In Uganda, for example—though I believe this is a shared issue across the continent—many customers assume that locally made products are of lower quality, while anything outside the country is automatically seen as superior. To motivate the consumers, we as entrepreneurs must ensure we are offering high-quality products that can compete with international standards.
Beyond quality, we also need to focus on originality. Consumers are not just looking for well-made products; they want something innovative. However, many of the so-called top Ugandan fashion designers are simply replicating Western designs. You’ll find garments that look identical to what’s already on Pinterest or other international platforms, yet they’re presented as original. When consumers recognise this, they lose confidence. Why would I buy something from Godfrey if I can get something from this brand they copied from? Innovation is key. Our work should reflect our authenticity as Africans.
In Uganda, for instance, many local tailors work with Kitengi fabric, which is largely associated with West African fashion. This is because West Africans have embraced and elevated their own cultural styles, making Ugandans want to tap into that energy. If more designers in Uganda created fashion that authentically represented their heritage while still being innovative and modern, we would attract more local consumers. Finally, accessibility matters. High-quality, innovative, and culturally grounded products should also be affordable and available to local consumers.
FAB: What do you have on the horizon for 2025? Are there any exciting projects you’re currently working on, a collection you’re preparing to launch, or perhaps a collaboration you’re hoping to secure this year?
Godfrey Katende: Yeah, so right now, I’m working on a major project—building a fashion residency for designers in Uganda. The focus of this residency is to educate designers about indigenous materials and encourage innovation around them. One of the biggest challenges we face is a lack of knowledge about these materials, so this space will serve as both a learning hub and a creative incubator. I expect it to be ready by March 2025, and it’s a huge milestone for IGC Fashion.
I’m also working on a podcast about bark cloth, sponsored by the V&A Museum and the Karun thakar Fund. The podcast is dedicated to archiving the history of bark cloth, but it goes beyond that—it highlights its sustainability, relevance in today’s world, and the ways different communities have used it. It’s a free resource that will help spread awareness and show the opportunities available in working with bark cloth, especially since it’s not just found in Uganda but in other parts of the world where it’s highly valued.
In addition, I’ve been invited to showcase at Nairobi Design Week, where I’ll be presenting my Gugumuka pieces made from bark cloth. That’s another exciting moment for me.
Lastly, I’m currently developing a new collection after recently winning an International Collaboration Grant from the British Council. This project is a collaboration with a UK-based fashion designer, and the full collection is set to launch in October. So, those are some of the key projects I’m working on this year.
