Bobby Kolade

Fashion designer Bobby Kolade started his career in Berlin and Paris, cutting his teeth at major companies like Maison Margiela and Balenciaga. In 2018, he returned to his hometown of Kampala and was struck by the severe decline of the country’s textile industry. Today, he is the creative powerhouse behind BUZIGAHILL, an independent label that brings attention to this issue through art, clothing and activism.

BUZIGAHILL | RETURN TO SENDER – Photographed by Ian Nnyanzi

The brand’s first collection is titled Return to Sender, and is made entirely out of waste textiles sourced from second-hand markets across Uganda. Each piece is redesigned and redistributed to the Global North, where the raw materials were originally bought and discarded. As co-host of the podcast Vintage or Violence, Kolade further examines the true cost of the global fashion industry and the impact that waste colonialism has on local communities and ecosystems.