Fashion beyond fabric: How Afro-futurism, culture, history shape Kissinger’s designs – Sqoop

For many designers, fashion begins and ends with clothing. For Derrick Kissinger, it is something far more immersive, a portal into history, memory, spirituality, and imagined futures.

Derrick Kissinger, also known as Kissinger the Creator, is a contemporary artisan whose work has moved beyond fashion into the realm of visual storytelling rooted in Afro-futurism. Drawing on his creativity and a deep commitment to environmental conservation, he crafts pieces that open imaginative portals using design to explore history, memory and possible futures.

Kissinger’s journey began at YMCA, but since his mother wanted him to join a university, he managed to apply thus securing placement at Kyambogo University, where he pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion and Design. Unlike many designers who focus on turning their skills into income, for him, creativity came naturally as a calling. He leveraged on that foundation to experiment across different creative expressions, gradually refining his craft and finding his niche.

“I began by experimenting with fabrics, but I was not entirely sure of what I was doing. I later ventured into metallic materials, still thinking that was the direction to take. However, when the results still did not feel satisfying, it is then I realised a gap within African cultural expression that needed to be addressed.” He recounts.

Understanding Afro-futurism design concept

After spending nearly a year exploring African culture and its creative possibilities, like existence, Kissinger began to refine his artistic direction. During this period, he experimented with various designs, drawing inspiration from both local and international influences as he sought to understand how culture could be reinterpreted beyond its traditional forms.

While in South Africa, he developed the idea of blending culture with music, using rhythm, sound and performance as extensions of fashion. This experience helped shape his Afro-futurist approach, from not just design being visual, but also expressive and immersive with authenticity, which he showcased at the Uganda one festival.

“I explored different cultures and attended several festivals to understand what culture meant to different people, and while in Burkina Faso and South Africa, I developed an original sound that my models could walk to, one that matched every step they made,” he says.

This shifted his creative direction to developing pieces that “open portals,” a concept he defines through Afro-futurism. For Kissinger, fashion is not merely about beauty, but about originality, remembrance, and reflection.

With this approach, he explores possibilities such as imagined doorways into forgotten histories, suppressed memories, potential futures and crises like Covid-19 pandemic or wars. He constantly questions the “what if”: what if certain moments in history unfolded differently, and how would people dress within those realities? What would clothing look like in times of crisis, transformation or survival?

From these questions, he builds concepts rooted in both what has existed and what is yet to come. He then translates them into fashion using a mix of materials such as fabric, metal and recycled debris, creating pieces that go beyond aesthetics to tell stories.

Some of the pieces include armors, thuribles, metallic plates, circular headed pangs, spears, shoulder wire curls, 5D glasses, and helmets. Through this, he invites his audience to step briefly into these imagined worlds, reflect, and return with a renewed perspective.

Kissinger notes, “I do not just want people to just say, that looks nice. I want them to stop, think and ask, ‘Why does this exist, what is it trying to tell me?’”

Kissinger explains that cultural origins, such as the story of Kintu, can be interpreted across different dimensions, and he chooses to engage with them from a reflective and forward-looking perspective. He examines the layers that have shaped identity over time such as what existed, what may have been altered, and what is yet to emerge, but with a focus on reclaiming an authentic African narrative.

He says, “Culture is not static, but a living expression of belief, history and identity, encompassing spirituality, tradition and the essence of who people are.”

At the core of his work is a concern with how easily societies forget. He reflects on how quickly communities move past trauma without meaningful reflection, how atrocities are reduced to statistics, and how stories risk being lost over time.

“We live in a culture of distraction. Everything moves fast. For me, fashion offers a way to slow things down.” Kissinger adds.

Through this lens, his designs act as bridges between contrasting worlds, connecting soil and circuitry, memory and imagination, pain and possibility. As such, each piece opens a portal, inviting reflection and remembrance, while every carefully constructed detail underscores his belief that history, no matter how heavy, deserves to be carried into the future.

A day in Kissinger’s life

Depending on his needs, Kissinger often begins his day in the field or at local markets, carefully filtering through materials to identify pieces that align with his vision. As an environmentally conscious creative, he leans heavily into recycling, working with spare car parts, tyres, jeans, back cloth, plastics such as bottles and polythene bags, as well as metal.

He then takes these materials through a process of cleaning and transformation, altering their texture and form to make them usable. His construction methods are equally unconventional, combining glue with mechanical techniques such as screwing and running cross nuts through materials to achieve structure. Some of his work, including projects showcased in Kigali, has been rooted in environmental conservation.

Kissinger typically develops his concepts from scratch, often visualising a design long before it is physically created. While the process can be complex and time-consuming, once the details are clear, he focuses on the purpose behind each piece.

Although he finds satisfaction in every completed work, he remains self-critical. Each new creation, he believes, can always be refined and improved. He also draws inspiration from fictional and historical influences, particularly Zulu narratives associated with figures like Shaka, which he admires for their strong cultural expression and authenticity.

Milestones

Kissinger’s career has been marked by notable achievements. In 2023, he won the Uganda Film Festival Award for Best Costume Designer, alongside several nominations that have strengthened his profile in the creative industry.

He creates designs for red carpet events, fashion runways, feature films, working with creatives such as Aaronaire, Walter Photography, and Shaine. His focus is on authenticity, making sure each project reflects genuine character, culture, and storytelling.

Kissinger’s work has crossed borders, with projects in Kenya, Tanzania, Kigali, and Denmark. These experiences exposed him to different creative spaces and broadened his approach to fashion as a tool for storytelling and cultural expression. One of his standout projects was the Johnnie Walker Blue Label collaboration in Kenya, where he explored rebranding, cultural exchange, and the blending of AI with creativity.

Challenges

Despite these milestones, he describes the industry as uneven and often unfair. He believes opportunities are not always based on talent, but on connections and influence. In his view, corruption and gatekeeping still shape access to opportunities, making it difficult for many creatives to progress.

Kissinger also points to limited access to creative spaces and weak support systems for artists. Even so, he remains committed to his work. Through his film Gods of Ankole, which explores the Chwezi dynasty and cultural identity, he seeks to showcase Uganda’s heritage in a more authentic and lived way.

Although this sometimes makes him feel like giving up, Kissinger says his purpose keeps him going, driven by the belief that he is meant to create and contribute something meaningful to the industry.

He is currently working on a film project with Aaronaire, a renown film director, with other key player and the film is centered on the Chwezi dynasty, believed to be divine figures who once established a powerful kingdom before mysteriously disappearing. The story also explores the history of the Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom, drawing from deep cultural and mythological roots. For him, this is a way of preserving heritage and reimagining identity through storytelling.