The KAHINDO Brand

Fashion
with a
soul.

Nine years of ethical luxury. Designed in New York. Handcrafted by female artisans in Africa.

01 Our Story → 02 The Artisans → 03 SEW Commitment → 04 Meet Kahindo →

"I built KAHINDO to prove that fashion can be both extraordinary and ethical."

— Kahindo Mateene, Founder

9 Years of
ethical luxury

3 Major retail
partnerships

6+ Press features
in top titles

100% Made by female
artisans in Africa

Our Story

Built to
honor the women
who make it.

"I did not set out to disrupt fashion. I set out to build something worthy of the women who make it — and the women who wear it."

KAHINDO was founded in 2017 by Kahindo Mateene — Congolese-born, raised across Africa, and unwilling to choose between artistry and accountability. Growing up with a pan-African identity that moved through Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Niger, and Nigeria, Kahindo understood from childhood that clothing is never merely clothing. It is memory. It is lineage. It is power.

After rising to national prominence on Project Runway Season 12, Kahindo chose not to build a brand that extracted from Africa — but one that invested in it. Every collection is designed in New York and handcrafted by female artisans in Africa under fair-trade conditions, with living wages, and with named credit for every pair of hands behind each piece.

Today KAHINDO is carried at Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, and Anthropologie, featured in Vogue, Elle, The New York Times, WWD, and Essence, and recognized as a Tory Burch Fellow and Workshop at Macy's graduate. But the measure that matters most is simpler: every woman who made your KAHINDO piece earned a fair wage for her craft.

2013

Project Runway Season 12

National platform — established Kahindo's design identity to a wide audience

2017

KAHINDO founded in New York City

Ethical luxury womenswear — designed in NYC, made by female artisans in Africa

2021

Tory Burch Fellow

Competitive fellowship for women entrepreneurs in fashion

2023

Workshop at Macy's Graduate

Premier retail accelerator for exceptional emerging brands

Now

Nordstrom · Bloomingdale's · Anthropologie

Three of the United States' most prominent national department stores

Meet the Designer Shop the Collections

"Luxury is not a label. It is time, intention, and the hands of someone who has spent a lifetime learning a craft."

— KAHINDO Brand Philosophy

The Collection

Now you know
what you're wearing.

Every KAHINDO piece carries the design vision of Kahindo Mateene and the craft of the women who brought it to life.

Shop Blue OmbréMeet the Designer

The Artisans

They are not
invisible.

Every KAHINDO piece is tagged with its maker. We believe the women who build this brand deserve to be known — not as anonymous labor, but as the skilled craftswomen and artists they are.

Our artisan partners have trained for years — in garment construction, textile dyeing, hand-threading, and embroidery. Their expertise is not background context. It is the product.

Master Artisan · KAHINDO Atelier

Wivine

With extraordinary skill in bespoke garment construction, Wivine brings precision and artistry to every KAHINDO piece she makes. Her seam work and finishing set the standard for the entire atelier — quality built by hand, checked at every stage.

Master-level craftsmanship

Lead Artisans · KAHINDO Atelier

Wivine & Ariette

Together, Wivine and Ariette form the creative heart of the KAHINDO atelier. Their collaborative craft — built on years of training, trust, and shared technique — is what makes every KAHINDO garment a singular piece of wearable heritage.

The hands behind every piece

Original print design

Kahindo draws every motif by hand in New York. No print is duplicated across collections.

Slow-bath dyeing

Ombré gradients take up to two days per fabric length. Each batch is hand-monitored throughout.

Atelier construction

Every seam set by hand. Minimum 18 hours of artisan labor per finished gown.

Artisan-tagged delivery

Each piece ships with a provenance card documenting the maker and the hours invested.

Wear Their Work

Every stitch tells
a story.

When you wear KAHINDO, you carry the work of master artisans who put their name on every piece they make.

Shop Blue Ombré All Occasions

S Sustainable

E Ethical

W Women-led

SEW Commitment

Not a footnote.
The entire point.

At KAHINDO, Sustainable, Ethical, and Women-led are not marketing terms applied after the fact. They are the structural conditions under which every piece is made — built into the supply chain from raw fabric to finished garment.

This is not ethical fashion as a footnote. It is ethical fashion as the entire business model — and the reason a KAHINDO piece carries weight beyond its beauty.

Sustainable

Craft that lasts

KAHINDO is built against the logic of fast fashion. Every piece is designed to outlast trends — in silhouette, in construction, and in material quality. A KAHINDO gown is not for one season. It is for every occasion worth dressing for.

Ethical

Fair trade production

Every woman in the KAHINDO supply chain earns a living wage and works in safe, dignified conditions. Fair-trade production in Africa is not a compromise for us — it is the standard we built to.

Women-led

Economic empowerment

KAHINDO was founded by a woman, made by women, and designed for women. Our artisan partners are not anonymous labor — they are named co-creators. Every purchase directly supports their economic independence.

100% Female artisan
production

Fair Living wage paid
to every maker

9yr Ethical production
since founding

Named Every artisan credited
on their work

The Collection

Now you know
what you're wearing.

Fashion that looks good, feels good, and does good. That is the KAHINDO promise.

Shop Blue Ombré All Occasions

Kahindo Mateene, designer and founder of KAHINDO

Founder & Creative Director, KAHINDO

The Designer

Kahindo Mateene — Fashion Designer & Founder of KAHINDO, an Ethical Luxury Womenswear Brand Designed in New York and Handcrafted by Female Artisans in Africa

"I built KAHINDO to prove that fashion can be both extraordinary and ethical — that the two are not in opposition. They are, in fact, the same thing."

Kahindo Mateene is a Congolese-born fashion designer with a pan-African upbringing spanning Uganda, Congo, and the world beyond. The founder and creative director of KAHINDO fashion brand, she established the label in New York in 2017 with a singular conviction: that ethical production in Africa could produce garments worthy of the world's most discerning women.

Her collections are designed in New York, rooted in Congolese textile heritage, and handcrafted by female artisans in Africa — under fair-trade conditions, with living wages, and with named artisan credit on every piece. KAHINDO is carried at Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, and Anthropologie, and recognized by Vogue, Elle, The New York Times, and WWD.

Born: Uganda Heritage: Congolese Based: New York City Founded KAHINDO: 2017 Made in: Africa

Read Kahindo's Full Story →

Her Journey

From
Kinshasa
to New York.

A life shaped by borders, languages, and the conviction that where you come from is not a limitation — it is your greatest creative resource.

Origin

Born in Uganda, raised across Africa

Kahindo Mateene was born in Uganda to Congolese parents, raised with a pan-African identity that moved across borders, languages, and cultures. She grew up speaking English, French, Swahili, and Lingala — a multilingual upbringing that shapes the way she designs.

1999

Blackburn College — International Business & Economics

Kahindo earned her BA in International Business and Economics at Blackburn College, Illinois. In May 2026, she returned to deliver the commencement address to a new graduating class.

Design

Illinois Institute of Art Chicago — Fashion Design

Kahindo earned her BA in Fashion Design, building the technical vocabulary — pattern, construction, drape, silhouette — she would later apply to fabrics made entirely on the African continent.

2013