Buziga Hill

Buziga Hill (BUZIGAHILL) is a Kampala-based fashion label and activist collective founded by designer Bobby Kolade, known for its powerful upcycling project titled “RETURN TO SENDER.” The name “BUZIGAHILL” references Buziga Hill, a real neighborhood in Kampala, Uganda, known for its elevated views and affluence — a symbolic contrast to the often-overlooked lives entangled in the global second-hand clothing trade.

Key Aspects of BUZIGAHILL:

🔁 RETURN TO SENDER Initiative

• BUZIGAHILL intercepts second-hand clothes from the Global North (Europe, USA, Asia) that are dumped in Uganda.

• These clothes are redesigned, upcycled, and sent back to their regions of origin — often as high fashion or art.

• It’s a critique of the global textile waste system and a call to decolonize the fashion supply chain.

🎨 Philosophy and Impact

• The label blends art, fashion, activism, and policy commentary.

• It questions who profits from fashion and waste, and repositions Uganda from the receiving end of the second-hand trade to a producer of value-added goods.

• BUZIGAHILL emphasizes local labor, material transformation, and reclaiming of textile agency.

👤 Founder: Bobby Kolade

• Sudan-born, raised between Kampala and Lagos.

• Of Nigerian-German descent, trained in Berlin, with experience at Maison Margiela and Balenciaga.

• Known for his critical approach to fashion, sustainability, and post-colonial discourse.

🧵 Production and Materials

• Garments are hand-made by a team of young Ugandans, mostly using:

  • Second-hand clothes from Owino Market.

  • Locally sourced cotton (though infrastructure limits widespread local production).

• Signature methods include dismantling and reassembling clothing (e.g., visible seams, inside-out denim).

🗺️ Global Recognition

• Exhibitions and collaborations in Amsterdam, Milan, Dubai, London, Accra, and Sharjah.

• First Ugandan brand to show at Pitti Uomo (Italy).

• Participated in What Design Can Do Festival, Berlin Fashion Summit, and more.

🧵 Historical Context:

• Uganda’s textile industry collapsed in the 1970s, opening the floodgates to second-hand imports.

• 80% of clothing in Uganda today is second-hand.

• Local production has been largely replaced by cheap imports or reliance on used goods.

• The EAC’s 2016 second-hand ban attempt was blocked due to U.S. trade threats under AGOA.

BUZIGAHILL turns this geopolitical injustice into creative resistance, asserting that fashion can be a medium for economic justice, cultural reclamation, and global dialogue.

🧵 BUZIGAHILL (Fashion Brand)

• Studio Contact: dewinton@buzigahill.com

• Press Inquiries: press@buzigahill.com

• Website: www.buzigahill.com