At just 25 years old, Kenyan fashion designer Jojo has transformed a passion she discovered in a high school classroom into one of the country’s fast-rising premium custom tailoring brands.
What began with a crochet side hustle under her parents’ roof has grown into Jojo Fashion House, a business now dressing clients across Kenya and beyond.
Her story is not one of overnight success or privileged opportunities. Instead, it is about choosing action over waiting, creating opportunities where none existed, and building a brand founded on trust, quality, and consistency.
For Jojo, fashion has never been about making clothes. It is about helping women feel seen, confident, and comfortable in garments designed specifically for them.
Meet Jojo: The 25-Year-Old Kenyan Designer Building a Fashion Empire One Custom Outfit at a Time
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A passion born in Home Science class
Jojo’s love affair with fashion started at Ngara Girls High School during Home Science lessons, where she first learned how to sew.
Determined to sharpen her skills, she enrolled at Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts to study Fashion and Design after high school. While pursuing her studies, crochet became a side business that allowed her to earn an income as she figured out her long-term vision.
At the same time, she faced a challenge familiar to many women.
Shopping for clothes was frustrating because ready-made outfits rarely complemented her body type.
“If something fit my waist, it was too short. If the length was right, then something else didn’t fit,” she recalls.
Rather than accept the problem, she saw an opportunity to solve it—not just for herself, but for countless women experiencing the same struggle.
Meet Jojo: The 25-Year-Old Kenyan Designer Building a Fashion Empire One Custom Outfit at a Time
Creating opportunities instead of waiting for them
Like many graduates entering the fashion industry, Jojo quickly realized that securing a permanent role was not easy.
Most opportunities available were internships that offered experience but little long-term stability.
Instead of waiting for someone else to open a door, she decided to build her own.
“I didn’t start Jojo Fashion House because I had everything figured out. I started because I believed I could build a future that didn’t depend on waiting for the next internship or the next chance,” she says.
She shifted her focus to her growing crochet business while consistently showcasing her work on Instagram.
Then came the order that would change everything.
An early client trusted her to create an orange suit—a project that became a turning point in her entrepreneurial journey.
The outfit attracted attention, leading more women to seek her out for custom-made official wear that fit properly and reflected their individual style.
That single opportunity became the foundation upon which Jojo Fashion House was built.
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Building a business around confidence
Today, Jojo Fashion House specializes in premium custom tailoring, with every garment created around the individual client rather than relying on standard sizing.
For Jojo, success isn’t measured by revenue alone.
“The biggest moments aren’t necessarily the biggest sales. They’re the moments when a client tells us they finally felt confident wearing one of our outfits,” she says.
She says seeing international customers trust a Kenyan fashion brand they discovered online is equally rewarding.
Perhaps even more fulfilling are repeat customers who return years later and recommend the business to family and friends.
“Trust is something you earn one order at a time.”
From Crochet to Couture: How 25-Year-Old Jojo Built a Thriving Fashion Brand
Quality over shortcuts
Jojo believes consistency is what separates lasting brands from temporary businesses.
The company has invested in computerized production equipment to improve precision while implementing multiple quality checks before garments leave the workshop.
Customer satisfaction also extends beyond delivery.
If a client is unhappy with a custom-made outfit, the business offers to remake the garment or issue a refund—an uncommon policy in custom tailoring.
“We’d rather lose money on one outfit than lose someone’s confidence in our brand,” she explains.
The company also follows up with clients after delivery to gather feedback and ensure they remain satisfied with the final product.
Lessons from entrepreneurship
Like many entrepreneurs, Jojo’s journey has been far from smooth.
Building a reliable team, earning customer trust, navigating operational mistakes, and overcoming dishonest employees all tested her resolve.
Yet each challenge strengthened the business.
She says assembling a team that genuinely cares about every client has become one of the company’s greatest strengths.
Looking back, she believes consistency—not perfection—has been the biggest driver of Jojo Fashion House’s growth.
How Jojo Fashion House Grew from a Crochet Side Hustle into a Premium Fashion Brand
Inspiring the next generation
Before 2023, Jojo says she was simply “a young girl crocheting under her parents’ roof” while holding onto a dream.
Today, she hopes her story encourages other young Kenyans to stop waiting for perfect circumstances.
“If there’s one lesson my journey has taught me, it’s this: don’t wait until everything is perfect. Start with what you have. Stay committed to your vision, keep improving your craft, and be consistent even when no one is watching.”
She is also quick to credit the people around her.
While the vision started with her, she says Jojo Fashion House became what it is today because of a dedicated team that believed in the dream and worked tirelessly to bring it to life.
Looking ahead, her ambition extends beyond building a successful fashion label.
She wants Jojo Fashion House to become one of Africa’s most respected fashion houses while proving that globally competitive businesses can be built from Kenya through discipline, innovation, integrity, and consistency.
“If someone believes in their own dream because they watched us build ours,” she says, “that will be one of our greatest achievements.”
