This archive report was first published on 16 November 2019.
On a typical Tuesday afternoon, Cess Munyoro, a 31-year-old fashion stylist, owns the room on the 20th floor of View Park Towers. Her big hair and bright yellow pants with an African print make her a striking figure.
With a team of five, Cess is busy putting together different looks for television hosts of a local media house that has contracted her to dress all their on-screen talent. Her job entails creating fashion looks for various clients, usually celebrities, which includes clothes, shoes, hair, and other fashion accessories.
Cess charges Sh4,500 per look, but she doesn't just sell clothes; she creates an image for her clients. 'Fashion styling is all about the brand,' she explains. 'It's determining what look will work for this person and not that one.'
According to Cess, the average Kenyan celebrity doesn't buy most of the clothes they parade in. Instead, she works with various clothing and accessory outlets that give her clothes for free in exchange for mentions and the influence of her clients.
After events, Cess takes the clothing to the laundry and then returns them to the shop. For clients who want to purchase the clothes, she can get them much better deals from these shops.
Television styling isn't very playful, but Cess admits she enjoys styling people for photos and videos shoots more. 'I feel like I have been doing this forever,' she says.
Well, she hasn't, but her love affair with fashion goes back to her childhood days. Growing up as the only girl amongst three siblings, Cess loved to dress up and make adjustments on clothes her mother bought her.
She then went to have a three-year-long career working in finance in a logistics company, which she describes as boring. To make extra cash and to liven up her life, she used her savings to set up a boutique, where she stumbled into fashion styling.
Today, Cess has a brand that employs five other people and a constant flow of clients. Social media has been one of her biggest resources, with most of her clients coming knocking after seeing posts from her other clients.
Many things could go wrong in a day in the life of a fashion stylist, but for Cess, the most common one usually is a dress not fitting the intended client. In case this happens, she always has shops on speed dial who can get clothes to her in record time.
That she has a thriving career being a fashion stylist means that the Kenyan fashion industry is also thriving. 'There are still a few areas we are struggling in, the biggest being the fact that the Kenyan woman is a slave of fashion trends,' Cess says.
For the foreseeable future, Cess is thinking about creating her clothing line, which will be based on her chic style. When she's not shopping for work, then you will find her shopping for pleasure or playing with her two children.
