To be bold and beautiful

Lynette Anderson. When she aged 16, she was quickly signed by Surazuri Modelling Agency in the golden age when the industry was still lucrative. After joining university, she ran for Miss Universe Kenya, and emerged second runner-up. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The Nairobi Fashion Market ranks pretty high on the fashion calendar. The bi-annual event attracts more than 100 exhibitors and throngs of high-end shoppers.
  • She was quickly signed by Surazuri Modelling Agency in the golden age when the industry was still lucrative. After joining university, she ran for Miss Universe Kenya, and emerged second runner-up.
  • The journey between a good idea and a good business, is often reserved for the brave, and Lynette is reaping the rewards.

She lacks the outright aggression of a successful entrepreneur, but Lynette Anderson carries herself with a subtle tenacity.

The former model had never organised anything bigger than a birthday party when she set out to set up East Africa’s premier fashion event.

The last four years have been a steep learning curve for the soft spoken dreamer.

“If you have a dream, just try and keep trying until you make it work. My friends told me it would never work, I was so pissed off, I sought to prove them wrong . How can you say something won’t work if you haven’t tried it yet?” she says.

The Nairobi Fashion Market ranks pretty high on the fashion calendar. The bi-annual event attracts more than 100 exhibitors and throngs of high-end shoppers.

It’s designed as a one-stop shopping experience, complete with a kids area, food and lots of live entertainment.

“I love reading all the positive feedback after every event,” Lynette says. “NFM is driven by the people: shopping, selling, having a good time with family and friends. Even Kenyans in the diaspora follow the event closely and often plan their holidays to coincide with NFM.”

SWAZURI MODELLING

At 16, Lynette was strutting the catwalks of Nairobi, where she got her first taste of fame, fortune and fashion.

She was quickly signed by Surazuri Modelling Agency in the golden age when the industry was still lucrative. After joining university, she ran for Miss Universe Kenya, and emerged second runner-up.

Interestingly enough, she ended up taking up the roles of the crown winner when all the bona fide winners went on to win other crowns.

“Miss Universe, endeared me to the media,” she reminisces. “I was covered extensively and people began to recognise me.”

However, when she completed her university education, she was forced to start all over again. She started off as a PA at a production company before being promoted to a production co-ordinator.

“Production is stressful, the final product is glamorous, but the process is organised chaos,” she explains. “That job really stretched me and taught me how to mobilise and manage resources.”

After earning her stripes in the challenging world of production, she decided to pursue her dreams in design. In 2006, Lynette started an interior design company with her mother.

Zaramu focused on beaded interior artefacts for the home. Their clients, were mostly expatriates, tourists and the Asian community.

At the time, ethnic designs were not as popular and she couldn’t find a platform that would expose her products to a wider market. So she put together NFM because she figured she wasn’t the only one, craving exposure.

“On the day of our first gig it rained like crazy,” She laments. “We got 68 exhibitors and 700 shoppers, but our costs were unrealistic, so we lost over Sh800,000.”

BE RELENTLESS
Although her investors were not thrilled about the colossal losses, they liked the concept. Four years later, Lynette has learnt the hard way, that behind all the glitz of fashion, the accounts should balance.

From dealing with shifty sponsors to competitors who don’t play fair, Lynette has had to embrace the hassle for herself, and she freely shares her wisdom with the newbies.

“I have gathered my fair share of frenemies over the years,” she acknowledges. “But you have to keep being positive; don’t let people bring you down and be careful who you deal with.”

After enjoying some considerable success, she’s giving back to society by introducing a clothing charity collection at NFM, where shoppers contribute old clothes to the needy.

She’s also working with several groups from Kibera and Kariobangi, giving them space at the fashion market to sell their wares and support themselves.

“We have a lot of talent in Kenya. We just need to nurture it and it’ll blossom,” says Lynette.

The journey between a good idea and a good business, is often reserved for the brave, and Lynette is reaping the rewards.