When supermodel Liya Kebede was growing up in Addis Ababa, she wore loose Ethiopian dresses made from strips of woven cotton. The Financial Times traced how that memory became Lemlem, her fashion label built on Ethiopian craftsmanship sold to international buyers who want handmade cloth with a clear origin story.
Lemlem works with Ethiopian weavers and artisans so that traditional techniques feed a modern apparel line rather than sitting only in local markets. The brand’s pitch is that Ethiopian cotton craft can compete on quality and design, not only on low cost.
Kebede’s global profile helped open doors that village workshops alone rarely reach. The business still depends on reliable export logistics, fair pay for weavers, and fashion cycles that can drop artisan labels as quickly as they celebrate them.
For Ethiopia’s creative economy, Lemlem remains a visible case of a diaspora-linked brand carrying home textiles into high-street and boutique channels without stripping the work of its Ethiopian identity.
Sources: Financial Times