 We have an alumni right now. How are you merging these two? No, I took past 10 classes. So my classes was just from 5 to 8. So during the day I'm through with my work. Na high school kule kuwazi because I'm trying to understand of how you're trying to combine high school, you know, class work and... Actually I started towards the end of 2004. Were you really serious? I was studying years but now I was... Okay, high school is done, you have one year. What will you be doing in this country? They are sleeping, drinking, having fun, you know, find something that you can do that can keep you busy from now till you join campus and stuff. So that's how I identified my path in high school. So you began simply because an opportunity showed up for you? No, I loved fashion. I used to, I loved watching people dressing online on Instagram, on TV shows. So I could just pick magazines, check the latest styles and trends. So that's when I knew this is something that I want to do. So in high school, precisely you were doing script then now once you left, now begin now doing practically the fashion itself? Ya, ya. Now I remember I was informed for, I got a call from Delhi Nation. They wanted me to go and feature my style. They saw my profile on Instagram. So I had to come to Nairobi during halftime to show, I did a photo shoot with Kevin Boa in Nairobi. And then my styles, six of my styles were featured on the newspaper. So that was the first time I knew, okay, this is something I can do even after school. Just come up with looks, outfits, share it online, show guides how you can wear coats on winter, this how you can wear summer outfits, blah, blah. That's how I did it. Wow, let's go back now to the fashion business and the industry itself. How would you say that the business is right now? The business, I can't, it's competitive yes because the market, I can't say it's flooded, but fashion is a big cake. So however unique and creative you are, the better for you. What makes you stand out because as you said, it's quite competitive. What makes you as elves to stand out? Basically me like I told you, I'm measuring into men more than female because I think it's high time we wake these guys up. I think men are so difficult. It's hard to change a man's wardrobe, but it's easier to change a girl's woman's wardrobe. It's hard for someone to just walk in town with a printed outfit like this. It takes guts and courage. So that's what I said, I want to change this mentality that men have that they can't, most of them actually, not all of them. Have you managed to change? Yeah, I have. Like most of the class that I'm dealing with right now, male, someone just like in a week you dress them for events, for office looks, for anything because you want, you just create a board on Pinterest and you say, okay, Alfie, I want you to work this with me. Whenever I need something, just go to the board, pick it, make it for me, deliver it this and this day. Looking at what you've mentioned, Elvis, you have talked about how you began from once you were in high school, that is from 4, then you left from 4, you came all the way out and now you're dealing with men. What gap had you seen before you even left high school? There was that gap that you saw, a niche that you wanted to feel. Yeah, I did my research while I was in high school and like I said, I started like, I just used to create content about men's fashion, like a blogger. There were a lot of women content creators. So you begun as a blogger? I started as a blogger at the beginning. So I just could just share styles online, take a pic, share it online, shop, pull out the dress, blah, blah, blah. But now when I finished high school, I knew I can turn this into how I can make money. Yes, I can still create content, but also I'll get money out of it. If I'm talking about African prints today on my Instagram page, I'll post it, but now instead of giving a shout out to another person outside there, maybe I can make this pant for someone else and still get money out of it. It's like killing two birds with one stone. Alright Elvis, let's talk about some of the things that you make as a fashion. What are some of the things that you make for men? We deal with everything. Okay, everything. Yeah, everything. What is everything? Customize, sew, blazers, have color outfits, shirts, casual, anything, depending on what the client wants. Are men embracing these? Yeah, they are. So far so good. I can't complain. Because, as you said, men are quite tough. I've had difficult clients, women clients, you're understanding their style, it's work. Alright, alright. Elvis, I want us to address this issue of borrowing too much from outside. You've seen people like, they take a screenshot, they come and tell this exactly what I want. Prejudice. Do you think, we now want exactly our own people to be creative? I think, people are creating. From what I can see, I can bring a screenshot of a design, but it doesn't mean that you have to make exactly that. You can twist the design, change the fabric. If it was Ankara, we can use cotton or something. So it can't look exactly like that. So I can't really say that's plagiarism. If this thing was on this side, you can say, okay, let's not put it this side. Let us put somewhere down here. Just twist the design so it can be unique and not like you borrowed it from somewhere else. Right. Because we need to fix the fact. Designs are, it's been there since 1700, 1800, now we are 2000. It keeps evolving. So you have to keep up with the pace. Yeah. Well, as we mentioned earlier, with the rate of competition that is there in the field of fashion and design, how is the demand and the supply rate? Like basically, me for me, I can't say the demand is high or it's low because like I said, I know the number of clients I deal with. There are some designers outside here who just depend on one or two people to satisfy their businesses, grow and, that's how I work with myself. I just have a group of clients who I know every week I'll make the outfits and I'll get money to sustain my business, sustain myself and do all those things. So for you don't deal with this particular person? Yeah, I deal with specific people. Whereby you get to design them and you give them... Yeah, I just suggest them if it's per week actually. Per week? Yeah. Like approximation of how many? Like three to four. Three to four? Yeah. And your business is this booming? Yeah, it's booming because now they'll make amount of orders. Not like one choice like I have ten, ten, five pounds and I need two blessings, you know. That's how you do it. All right. Elv is the sumas that we can discuss and the reason where you've entered into man instead of women is one among them. Yeah. No, but it doesn't mean that we still dress women but now our main area, you know, it's just we try to target the men more but it's in her women clients we also deal with. Oh, so you're so working with? Yeah, we work with all but now men is our main. Oh, so it's the main and the prime thing? Yeah. All right, are you working with anyone so far? Anyone? In terms of your company? Are you working alone? No, I have a group of people we work with. I have a French social designer. Now she has also major need to female but now when you have like, you know, clients on different, you know, we come up and say every day you need to help me blah blah blah that's how we work together. All right. Do you do for weddings? Yeah, we do weddings too. All right. We get orders for weddings also do even graduation funeral. Congratulations. You do gowns or you do dressing? No, the dressing. Yeah, for the suit we bend after party outfits. How much presumably you can just say for a wedding? No, for a wedding it depends if you're dealing with a suit you have to know the design first and the material that you'll use but now our suits range from if it's two piece suit the lowest range 8000. Okay. Yeah, going up. All right. So according to your own will and wish? No, according to the design and the fabric that you are using different types of fabrics outside there. Yeah, also the design you have maybe double breast, single breast, one baton, two baton. All those matters? Yeah, all those matters we include all those factors before you come up with the final price. What do you need to consider when probably you're launching into the market in terms of the field that is fashion? What do you need to consider when you're starting a business like fashion and isn't? No, first of all you have to know your target first then you have to know where which other publics you'll be using which designs you'll be using you know whatever your clients want it's all to work with it's not what I want it's not what the person wants. All right. Yeah. So it's not about me at the end of the day it's all about customer satisfaction client satisfaction. All right. Let's talk about sustaining the business as you said earlier it's quite it's quite with the significant amount of people how are you sustaining yourself in the market? You know right now with the rising trends of social media it's easy to sustain your brand online you know just take a picture share different pictures on Instagram, Facebook on social media pages on your WhatsApp groups with your clients you know there are new fabrics in the market share it with them they're like okay I need this fabric I need you to make me this and this and this and that's how you now sustain yourself. All right. Where can we find you? On Instagram, Facebook at Alvis Alfi and Alfi Clothing. On in all Twitter? All across all social media platforms. So it's just one name? Yeah. Wow amazing and of course someone commented about your hair. Oh thanks so much. That's a big deal I don't know if your Instagram page is ready so as we can have a look at it but when we were talking about fashion we have quite a number of people who believe like we are flooded that is number one and number two we're not as creative as much as we'd want to be because people have been seeing images from all over the African continent about especially Nigeria has been so much into Ankara designs do you think we're doing much? In terms of coming up with your own designs Yes. Yeah. I think you're just okay. I don't know the kind of people who borrow too much. No we don't borrow the designs we can't say designers borrow designs no you know it's one thing to have a design and it's one thing to use a different like I said different fabric you know you just have to treat the design a little bit different because if this is what a client wants you can't tell him no you can't do this do this and that's what he's brought you to make it for him or us or since this is not just a matter of like you know whatever you want I can come up with an idea it can be unique alright so for you it's about uniqueness uniqueness wow that's amazing before we wound up I wanted to I would like to talk to a few young people who'd like to venture into the business what's the thing that you feel like they really need to address you know at the end of the day like I said it's all about your passion may have started when I was in form three right now think 22 years old or something 23 years old yeah and that's on why it started is you know I can't say I wasn't a bright student in school and you know sometimes what teachers and our parents tend to believe that there's this system of school that you just have to follow, follow, follow until you know and right now there's someone who has 200 marks outside there he's crying it's like it's the end of the world it's like I want to be that guy who got 440 marks but you don't know we are different just come up with something an idea you want to follow and you want to pass you and go for it at the end of the day for you in full support of CBC yeah let's grow talent yeah let's go talent that's how first world countries are are really ahead of us are we in Kenya growing talent as much as you think you think we are as per now I think there's that growth but I think we can do better how can we do better in advancing this you know come up with institutions that nature talent like divert if you are into fashion just do fashion if you are into music do music don't do KMS you know it won't help me right now KMS is not helping my career at the moment are you sure KMS is not helping you okay I don't think those chemical equations they are helping me right now so okay KMS is to help he is not working for him and it has not been working English math but of which now actually boys actually thrived in these KCP in terms of math and science and the ladies do you think there is an issue between these two in terms of performance between the boys and the girls no from what I had girls are performing better than the boys that's what I know comment reserve there has been Elvis of course you said where we can find you on Facebook of course get to check out what he has for you of course he has got so much of course lined up for you and of course keep on checking on his Instagram he has his Facebook and Twitter of course that is what you said many thanks for having me many thanks for having me it's always a pleasure to have you thank you so much that's it for 1 in the morning and of course entrepreneurship Tuesday join us again tomorrow in the morning for Queens Wednesday my name is Karanjo Alex see you then so long thanks so much for coming man Paul elikwana van that's what you have