From the hotel industry to taking local fashion by storm – VIDEO
Seven years in the trenches of hospitality industry is all Regina Otieno could take after after graduating from Utalii College.
Being a mid-level manager in the food and beverages section was not what she wanted and she quit for the unknown. Her first priority then was to take care of her young family.
The mother of three says she always loved fashion and was doing it on the side even during employment.
In 2018, she joined Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts (Bifa) to learn tailoring. She used to rely on other tailors who sometimes disappointed her.
“I knew how to design but I couldn’t saw and had to work with other tailors who knew how to and sometimes clients would come back and complain,” she explained to Nairobi News.
This tormented her because all the complaints were coming to her as the designer.
She had son started establishing her brand among customers and opened Jinna Fashions in her compound in Harambee Estate.
Despite her big clientele base, she says her big break came when she did an avant-garde (ultra-modern) design and everything changed.
“While in school my avant-garde design won many hearts and I started getting invitations to fashion events and big orders from people,” she says.
Even before graduation she was invited to showcase her African designs at the 2018 Africa Kids Fashion Week. She hopes to showcase her African designs abroad.