TWO AFRICAN BORN & RAISED BROTHERS ON A MISSION
OUR STORY & OUR MISSION
At Koy Clothing, honouring our commitment to sharing the beauty of Africa through ethical & sustainable fashion is at the heart of everything we do.
We are dedicated to empowering Africa with exceptional quality, passion & creativity, offering classic & timeless pieces with a unique African twist.
Traditional, hand woven Kenyan Kikoy fabric is meticulously crafted into all of our designs. Every piece that we make has been designed by our founding brothers.
From the moment our first garment was stitched, we made a promise to donate 20% of profits to charity projects in Africa, supporting the people, the wildlife and the environment.
The two brothers that founded the brand were born and raised in Africa, and are on a mission to recognise, value & support the continent they grew up in and love so much.
So far we have donated £90,000 for charity projects in Africa. To learn more about who we are and what we create, please explore below.
Meet Alastair & Jimmy Scott
OUR FOUNDING BROTHERS
From growing up in Kenya, we were surrounded by the stunning striped Kikoy fabric. It was a dream of ours to show the world Kenya’s bright and beautiful culture in an empowering and luxury way, and Kikoy struck us as the perfect way in which to do so…
The birthday present that changed everything...
JIMMY'S 21ST BIRTHDAY
Alastair wanted to get Jimmy a jacket that made him standout at his 21st birthday party. After looking everywhere for the perfect jacket, he couldn't find anything to match what he had in mind. It then occured to him that the bright and unique Kikoy fabric that surrounded them growing up in Kenya could be perfect for such a gift; considering Jimmy loved wearing Kikoy sarongs and designing himself beach shorts out of the fabric. Alastair set off to the local Kenyan markets, bought a selection of Kikoy fabric, took it to 'Charles' (A local tailor in Nairobi), 'et voila'! Without knowing it, Alastair had just shaped the brothers future...
A few years had past, and after receiving many compliments on his favourite jacket, Jimmy had a lightbulb moment: Kikoy had never been used before to create premium garments for the affordable-luxury market worldwide.
RISKING IT ALL...
GO HARD OR GO HOME
In 2016, the brothers put all their savings into the first batch of striped jackets and waistcoats made from Kenyan Kikoy. We hired a van, filled it with everything we owned with next to nothing in the bank, and hit the road... We set up shop at luxury British events, and after these 3 events we had proven a concept with a big business plan in place for innovation and growth...
TIME TO RAMP IT UP...
Investment Time/The Growth
In 2017 we received investment from a hedge fund in London, which enabled us to quit our jobs and pursue the dream full time. We went from offering purely striped blazers and waistcoats to launching an entire collection of blazers, shirts, polos, shorts, and more, all with subtle yet eye-catching details of Kenyan Kikoy Fabric...
FIND US IN PERSON
OUR EVENTS
By 2024 we were attending over 15 events a year with only two of us working full time on the business. YUP, we've been busy!
Click below to see where you can find us. It would be amazing to meet you in person!
Used like never before...
KENYAN KIKOY FABRIC
Kikoy has a very unique striped pattern that is iconic to Kenyan culture. If you've ever been to Kenya, you would have most likely spotted this fabric used by the locals in a variety ways. From home decor, to wraps for warmth, for carrying babies on their backs, etc.
Over the years tourists took a liking to this fabric and started using it for sarongs on the beach, towels, beach shorts, etc: and now because of us - luxury fashion...
Kikoy has never been used before in the way we use it! It took us years of developing the fabric for it to be suitable for our premium garments. Thanks to Rose and her team we are now in the position to produce many new and unique stripes and colours of Kikoy.
ROSE & HER TEAM...
KENYAN KIKOY WORKSHOP
In February 2023, we spent an amazing day with Rose and her talented team in Nairobi who hand-weave the authentic Kenyan Kikoy fabric we use in our designs. The time, dedication and attention to detail this workshop and their team put into every meter of Kikoy is truly inspiring.
Rose started weaving after her retirement to support herself and her family. When the orders increased she started employing local artisans and now has a team of 10 weavers. Her employees now manage to make a living, send their children to school and pay for medical bills through this work. We look forward to ordering more from Rose and helping her grow her team even more...
FEBRUARY 2022 - 3 YEAR TARGET SET
£30,000 COMMITMENT
In February 2022 we made a commitment to the East Africa Character Development Trust (EACDT) with a £30,000 (6 Million Kenya Shillings) donation target.
Back in February 2019, we first visited the EACDT and began our misison to support the amazing work that they do with our first donation of £2,176. This grew to £9,576 over the first 3 years of our partnership (2019-2021).We were so happy with the progress and results that the EACDT have achieved so far, we decided to further increase our donation to £10,000 per year for 3 years (2022-2025).
£30,000 TARGET ACHIEVED - 2024
WE DID IT!
This donation impacted the lives of 2,177 children (1,082 boys and 1,095 girls), funding 952 character education sessions.
These sessions were key in developing confidence in the kids as they actively participate in finding solutions to issues affecting their lives. The sessions were about teaching the children to work hard, develop their talent and aspire to excel in everything that they do.
Our students demonstrated a lot of curiosity during discourse on issues such as gender-based violence, crime, drug substance abuse, and teenage pregnancies. Ultimately, giving them the tools for a brighter future...
Our Sustainability Mission
PLASTIC FREE PACKAGING
Kenya made an inspiring movement towards a more eco-friendly environment by making plastic bags illegal, with a ban imposed in 2017. It was incredible to see everyone embrace these rules so quickly and with so much enthusiasm.
This gave us the inspiration to make it a priority to reduce our use of plastic packaging as best as possible.
After searching hard for the best alternatives to plastic, we finally found an eco-friendly, non-plastic, recyclable, semi-see-through, splash proof, reusable fabric option. This fabric feels very soft and looks smart. We then added handles and close-able button clips to make them very useful bags to reuse. For example, they are great shoe bag options for traveling. It took us a while, but we can now proudly say that all of our shirts come in plastic free, eco-friendly, reusable bags.
Our Next £40,000 Commitment (2025-2026)
WE'RE GOING TO BUILD A SAND DAM IN KENYA!
In January 2025, we made a new charity commitment.
Having grown up in Kenya, we had witnessed the devastating effects that drought and water scarcity can have on rural communities. Water shortages are not just an inconvenience, they affect everything. Families spend hours each day walking long distances to collect water, time that could otherwise be spent working, farming, or in school. Crops fail, livestock suffer, and entire communities are held back simply because reliable access to water does not exist.
We knew we wanted to do more.
That is when we committed to funding the construction of a Sand Dam in partnership with the Africa Sand Dam Foundation and Sand Dams Worldwide — a simple but revolutionary solution that captures and stores rainwater beneath the sand of seasonal rivers, providing a permanent, sustainable water source for communities for generations.
For us, this was more than a donation. It was the beginning of a journey - one that would involve our team, our customers, and the very communities the project was designed to support.
£40,000 TARGET ACHIEVED - 2026
WE DID IT!
We are incredibly proud to share that the Ngiluni–Utuneni Earth Dam - Funded by Koy Clothing and our wonderful customers - was completed at 1pm on 14th February 2026.
Our determined group of customers flew out to Kenya to help the local community complete their Sand Dam. This incredible team contributed over 400 hours of hands-on support in just 3.5 days - helping to shift, mix and lay over 550 bags of 50kg cement.
Before this sand dam was built, members of the community walked more than 4 hours a day to collect water, typically from a distant, unclean and unsafe river water source. Today, that journey has been reduced to just 30 minutes, and the community will have lifelong access to clean water, as the sand dam will go on to provide:
- Over 40 million litres of water capacity - Enough year-round water stored safe from contamination and evaporation within sand - Clean, safe & closer water collection for over 3,000 people
To every supporter, every donor, every community member and every person who picked up a shovel - we couldn’t be prouder of what we have achieved together.
From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!!