To Have and to Hold: Fatimah Naimah Safiyanu

The Kaduna Fashion and Art Festival (KAFART) is back this year for its 6th overall edition and 1st edition as a biennial. The theme is “To Have and to Hold.” We had earlier spoken to the festival director, Ganiyat Sani, about what this edition promises. We spotlight some of the exhibiting artists and designers, asking them questions about their creative origins, their distinct interpretations of the theme, and how their heritage and local communities shape the narratives they choose to preserve against the threat of erasure

Take us back to where your relationship with fashion began. What are your earliest memories of making, wearing or being around clothes, and who or what first made you feel that designing was something you could do, and perhaps needed to do? 

My relationship with fashion has grown from an appreciation for the beauty of clothing, especially the way women in my family express themselves through what they wear. I have always been drawn to pieces that feel feminine, elegant and modest without losing their character.

Over time, I learned how to tie-dye from my step mother and It became a way for me to tell stories, preserve memories and reinterpret the things that makes me me. That is part of what inspired me to create WEAR NAIMS. A brand that allows me to explore my love for fashion while staying connected to my passion for dyeing

This year’s theme, “To Have and to Hold,” asks what we choose to hold, what we let go, and the cost of holding on. When you first sat with those words, what did they stir in you, and how do they show up in the pieces you’re bringing to KAFART? 

When I first thought about “To Have and to Hold,” I thought about the things we inherit without always realizing their value. Our culture, our memories, our traditions and the way the women before us dressed.

For me, holding on does not necessarily mean keeping everything exactly as it was. Sometimes, it means carrying something from the past and finding a way to make it relevant to the present. That idea connects deeply with this collection. I am holding on to the beauty of nostalgic Arewa fashion while allowing it to evolve into pieces that the woman of today can wear comfortably and confidently.

Tell us about the collection, or the pieces you’re showing. What is the story behind them, and what do you hope someone feels or understands when they see them being worn?

This collection is a love letter to nostalgic Arewa heritage. It draws inspiration from the elegance of 1980s Northern Nigerian fashion, our culture, and the need for clothing that works with our climate.

I wanted to create pieces that feel familiar but still have a contemporary identity. Modest, feminine, airy and easy to wear. The collection also explores the beauty of natural cotton, particularly Funtua cotton, and hand-dyed fabrics.

One of the pieces is inspired by my mother’s wedding dress, which makes the collection especially personal to me. It represents the connection between generations and the way certain memories remain with us through clothing.

I hope people see more than beautiful dresses when they encounter this collection. I hope they recognize something of their own history, their mothers, their culture and themselves in it.

Take us through how a piece comes to life, from the first spark of an idea to the moment you know it’s finished. Which fabrics, techniques, rituals or habits are essential to you, and is there anything about your process that would surprise people?

 For me, the process begins with inspiration.  Sometimes from an old photograph, a memory, a traditional silhouette or simply the way I imagine a woman wanting to feel in a dress.

From there, I think about how to translate that inspiration into something practical and wearable. I consider the fabric, the silhouette, the movement of the garment and how comfortable it will be in our weather. Cotton, especially Funtua cotton, is important to my work because of its connection to home and its suitability for creating breathable pieces.

I am also drawn to hand-dyeing because it gives the fabric character and makes the process feel more personal. I want the final garment to feel thoughtful without being complicated. Something that carries a story but can still become part of a woman’s everyday life.

For me, a piece is finished when it feels balanced: when the idea, the fabric and the way it sits on the body come together naturally.

KAFART 6 asks what endures in the face of erasure and forgetting. Is there a story, tradition, technique or memory from your culture, family or community that you feel is at risk of being lost, and how does your work help you hold onto it? 

 I think one of the things we risk losing is the appreciation of the beauty and thoughtfulness of our traditional ways of dressing, especially the everyday elegance of older Arewa fashion.

When we think about heritage, we sometimes focus only on ceremonial clothing, but there is so much beauty in what women wore in their everyday lives. The silhouettes, the fabrics, the modesty and the quiet elegance. These are things worth documenting, celebrating and carrying forward.

Through WEAR NAIMS, I want to help keep that visual heritage alive by drawing from it and reinterpreting it for contemporary women. I do not want heritage to exist only in old photographs or memories. I want it to continue being worn, experienced and appreciated by a new generation.

KAFART platforms creatives from Northern Nigeria and beyond. What does it mean to you to show your work here, and how has your community, your city and the way you grew up shaped the way you design?

Showing my work at KAFART means a great deal to me because it gives me an opportunity to share my interpretation of Northern Nigerian fashion with a wider audience. It is also meaningful to be part of a platform that celebrates creativity, culture and the stories coming out of our region.

Growing up around Arewa culture has shaped the way I see femininity, modesty and elegance. These influences naturally find their way into my designs. I am particularly interested in how we can celebrate our identity while creating clothes that fit into the lives of women today.

With WEAR NAIMS, I want to contribute to a fashion conversation that shows Northern Nigerian fashion as something living and evolving. Something that can honour its roots while making room for new ideas.

Looking beyond this festival, what is the collection or piece you haven’t made yet that excites you most, and what do you hope people carry with them after experiencing your work at KAFART?

 What excites me most is the opportunity to keep exploring the relationship between heritage and contemporary fashion. I want to continue developing pieces that celebrate Arewa identity, experiment with local cotton and hand-dyed fabrics, and make thoughtful, beautiful clothing that women can wear in their everyday lives.

Beyond this festival, I hope to build WEAR NAIMS into a brand that people recognize for its distinct identity, its attention to detail and its commitment to telling stories through