Ria Ana Sejpal loves being an oddball. Identifying with designers who challenge the industry like Bubu Ogisi, Yohji Yamamoto, and Rei Kawakubo, the creative director and founder behind the slow fashion unisex brand Lilabare has been drawn to the concept of dressing from a young age. However, it’s not fashion in the traditional sense that sparked her passion for design, she explains. Instead, Sejpal’s desire to make garments is fuelled by her curiosity for the human form. Growing up on the coast of Kenya, she would draw and paint figures, vividly imagining different garments for each sketch. This childhood hobby laid the foundation for her fashion career.
Born and raised in Kenya, Sejpal launched Lilabare in 2017 after working in graphic design and various fashion sectors in Kenya and India. “I had studied and researched enough that I felt confident,” she says about the moment she decided to bring her brand to life. Since then, she’s advocated for sustainable practices and community building through innovative textiles produced from plant waste and collaborations with local artisans.
Conveying its name which means raw, natural state, through clothing, Lilabare offers a considerate take on dressing championed by inventive fabrications. Their collections come in brilliant burnt colours inspired by Swahili architecture, tropical climates, and the white sandy beaches of the coastline. Sejpal refers to her garments as future heirlooms crafted to be passed down through generations.
Combining crafts with modern technology, she’s part of a growing class of designers bridging indigenous methods with the digital realm. Her creative process involves digitally sketching her collections for accuracy and 3D printing block prints, a practice traditionally synonymous with India and achieved through an intricate process of hand dyeing and colouring fabrics using wooden blocks. “New textiles can take anywhere between 8 months to 3 years” to develop, she reveals. This juxtaposition of bringing together laborious hand techniques with tech not only allows her to experiment but also provides a pathway for innovation.
Throughout our conversation, Sejpal talks passionately about craft. Despite its time-consuming nature, balancing conscious fashion with creativity and the use of technology is a challenge she’s happy to take on. “The more I do the more fascinated I am because we’re getting incredible breakthroughs in fabric technology and botanical dyeing, crochet works and weaving,” the designer declares. “It’s not just about the silhouette and print but how we make them, she continues.”
When I ask about her vision, Sejpal says it’s to continue making meaningful products for people. “For me, the greatest joy is to have the ability to keep creating. As long as I’m in a place where I’m enabled and supported in my creative process, then I would be happy,” she concludes.
