BY BETELHEM BEDLU
Genet Kebede is the CEO and Creative Director of Paradise Fashion. Established in 1992, Paradise Fashion is a well-known fashion brand in Ethiopia. Though there are many stories to it, she founded her company after studying fashion design and garment construction in Italy and Argentina. Genet was born and raised in Addis Ababa. She completed her education in Nazareth School where she gained the opportunity to grasp adequate knowledge in Art, sketching, ethics, language as well as fashion design. She has received a certificate in fashion design, pattern making, cutting and stretching from Flego Italian University.
The exposure did not only unlock her deep desire for the fashion design, but it paved the way to where she is now. However, it was due to her wedding traditional dress that was made by one of the best known designers in the town ‘Emama Tsige’ that she fell in love with the designing sector. “The extra care and everything that the designer took with each line still amazes me. It is depicted in my mind till now. The dress has special place in my life and it is the main reason why I engaged in the fashion design as well,” she underscored.
Her designs merge traditional Ethiopian with modern techniques and trends. Inspired by her beloved Ethiopian “Hager Lebse (traditional Ethiopian cloth)” and the wonderful textiles of Ethiopia, Genet is making contemporary Ethiopian fashion and bridal wear for Ethiopian women and the rest of the world using traditional hand woven Ethiopian fabrics. Many have stated that she is known for impacting the way the West sees contemporary fashion in Ethiopia. Through her company, she is noted to have shown Ethiopia and the rest of the world the heights that the country can achieve with its fashion and unique textiles.
After she got married, she had to leave the country but she took the opportunity to learn fashion design in Italy and Argentina. She was very enthusiastic to see her talent and education turned in to fruition. Thus, she decided to make her own graduation dress. She made a traditional dress that took the attention of those around her. Genet could not just live with the admiration she got by the dress she made. Therefore, she decided to return to homeland and join the designing sector abruptly. Soon after she started her business, she got the opportunity to showcase her products to foreigners through the exhibition her company participated in.
Ever since they started exhibiting their works, their products become more welcomed and admired by customer. The increasing customer’s demand coupled with the inconvenience of her house which has served them as a working area, made her decided to move out to a better place that can assist both as working and showcasing area. “When I joined the fashion industry 29 years ago, there were plenty of opportunities and it was easy to promote the country through our traditional attires. Nonetheless, the fashion industry is still in an infant stage.”
She went on saying: “Cultural/Traditional attires could have been the first thing that promotes the country among all sectors. If there is one thing that the country failed to do so is not modernizing and promoting weaving properly. Had weaving been promoted, it could have created ample job opportunities. More importantly, it could have generated substantial amount of foreign currency.” For about four years, Genet was able to make dresses for Ethiopian Airlines Women Employees. However, she said lack of thread, be it in amount and quality is affecting the business.
Besides the fact that raw materials are very expensive, the entry of Chinese clothes/fabrics in the market highly influenced the market which in turn pressure the Ethiopian traditional clothes harshly. The government has been giving little attention to the fashion industry. It should exert more efforts to modernize weaving. One sided effort could not bring the desired result. Hence, the government needs to promote the sector as well as addressing the challenges that draw the sector back from becoming competitive in the global market, she stressed.
Currently, she get her inputs from women weavers that are organized by the government around Gulele area and made the products as per to their customer’s desire. Owing to the long market chain that woven fabrics require, Genet had 20 employees however, due to the less demand and effect of the Coronavirus pandemic, she has 13 permanent employees. Explaining the reason for the high price of traditional attires, she said that absence of inputs takes the lion’s share. “If we are able to support the sector with new technologies, not only will it secure job for more citizens; but it will also allow the country to benefit from it. Government officials need to play their role in this regard,” she said.
Besides wearing the traditional clothes in high level meetings or occasions, given its multilayered benefits, it is essential that higher officials support and promote the sector, she added. Genet also noted that the company aspires to come up with new designs that would make the country outshine in the fashion industry. There is nothing that is not produced in Paradise. Its product lines include ladies wear that embraces caftans and tops, hand woven scarves and shawls, as well as the Paradise Home line that includes pillow cases, decorative throws, wall hangings and table sets.
They also offer custom designs, going the extra mile to design to meet customers’ specific needs and requests. Genet is currently providing her products to the Ethiopian market and Paris through her ladies wear line. The products are crafted from hand woven fabrics. Genet’s vision is to take her brand global, launch an e-commerce site and bring new techniques to their weavers.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2023
