Keypoints:
- Kisumu hosts inclusive runway for curvy women
- Models defy stigma in fashion, society
- Founder honours mother’s self-love legacy
IN brightly patterned wax print dresses and form-fitting evening gowns, plus-size models twirled and danced down the runway in Kisumu, western Kenya, last weekend, proudly celebrating African curves at the East Africa Plus Size Fashion Affair.
The annual event, now in its ninth year, is the only one of its kind in Kenya, according to its founder Winnie Wenga Walcott, who says it was born from the desire to redefine beauty standards and rebuild the self-esteem of fuller-figured women.
‘We have seen the media really trying to focus on a certain body type of women,’ Walcott told AFP. ‘And in so doing, this has really affected their self-esteem.’
A bold alternative to runway norms
Unlike conventional haute couture shows, the Kisumu event was infused with joy, rhythm and celebration. More than 300 spectators cheered as a dozen amateur models took to the catwalk, smiling and dancing in styles designed to embrace their natural shapes.
Entrepreneur Oprah Odhiambo, one of the models, said she hoped the show would help others shed the shame often attached to being larger-bodied in public.
‘Plus-size can do what the petite can do, so I feel joyous,’ she said. ‘There are those plus-size women who are in hiding because they are afraid that people will body shame them. I hope this changes how they see themselves.’
‘Big mama’ breaks barriers
Singer and model Rosemary Odire, who performs under the stage name Nyakusa Nyamama, also took part in the event. Dressed in a leopard-skin skirt, she recalled the mockery she had faced onstage.
‘I have encountered so many problems… people are like “Yo big mama, what are you going to do there, you cannot dance, get off the stage”,’ she said. ‘But I am here portraying… not just any beauty, not just plus-size beauty, but the African beauty in me.’
From self-doubt to centre stage
The transformation for many of the women was profound. Training began in March, and according to Walcott, the participants were far from confident at first.
‘They were very timid about their body sizes,’ she said. ‘But now, there’s a huge difference.’
For Walcott, the show is deeply personal. She created it in honour of her mother, Seline Aoko, who supported her through body image struggles. ‘You see how big I am, I really hated my body, but she really encouraged me,’ said Aoko from behind her fruit stall in Kisumu.
‘I want her to see herself as beautiful,’ Walcott said of her mother, adding that the show also highlights health and fashion challenges faced by curvy women, particularly the lack of accessible clothing options.
As music thumped and hips swayed on the catwalk, Aoko beamed: ‘Big is beautiful!’
