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 £50,000 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...
16 GOING ON 30...
LET'S DO MORE!
In 2024 we have attended 16 events with only two of us working full time on the business. YUP, we've been busy!! It's now time to expand our team, with the goal of attending 30 events in 2025. That's more than one event every other week!! #WatchThisSpace
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 mission 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 Charity Project (2025-2026)
WE'RE GOING TO BUILD A SAND DAM IN KENYA!
Providing year-round safe water... (This is NOT a normal dam!)
A Sand Dam is a reinforced stone masonry wall built across a seasonal sandy river. They have almost no maintenance costs and can last for upwards of 60 years (the oldest known in operation being over 100 years old). Water behind a Sand Dam raises the water table in the surrounding area which improves the soil, creating better conditions for crops and grazing. More trees can be planted which ensures that more water infiltrates the ground and less soil is washed away – creating a virtuous cycle of soil and water conservation. The water is filtered by the sand and is also drinkable!! During the rainy season, the Sand Dam fills with sediment-laden water. The heavy sand is deposited behind the dam, while the light silt is carried downstream. Unlike a normal dam, as much as 97 to 99% of the water flowing in the river continues downstream, therefore having ZERO NEGATIVE IMPACT on other habitats further down stream.
20% of Koy Clothing profits have already been set aside for this purpose and the project will go ahead without any further donations needed.
However, we/Sand Dams Worldwide welcome any further donations - with additional funding we can build a bigger Sand Dam and/or add supplementary features such as a solar pump, which will in turn benefit more people in need of water.
More updates to come soon... #WatchThisSpace