In Kenya, Religious Millennials Are Changing Standards Of Modesty
Priscillah Wangari (who also goes by Carey Priscillah). Photo courtesy of Wangari.
NAIROBI, Kenya — For years, religious attire has been at odds with what some believers consider fashionable. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, modest religious clothing in Kenya meant a very restricted wardrobe — one solid color of fabric, stitched and sold in select shops run by members of the church.
Today, trend-conscious religious millennials are changing the dress code, not necessarily by dressing immodestly but by adding twists of artsy, modern style into their closets.
One of them is Priscillah Wangari, who was raised as an Akurinu, an African sect of Christianity also known as the Holy Ghost Church with followers in Kenya. Akurinus incorporate aspects of Christianity with traditional beliefs of the Kikuyu ethnic group native to Central Kenya. Alcohol is forbidden, as well as consumption of pork, and they believe the Holy Spirit of the trinity is above the Father and Son, departing from orthodox Christian belief.
Akurinu women and girls normally wear long pleated dresses and headscarves. Their dress code is drawn partly from Exodus 28:1-14, where God gave Moses intricate instructions for the clothes that his brother Aaron would wear to minister to God as a priest. In addition, the founders of the Akurinu sect from the 1920s included a female prophet who recounted that while ascending Mount Kenya, God told her to remove all her adornments, throw them in the river and cover her hair.
Because of their strict way of life and belief that they are God’s priests, orthodox Akurinus have preserved a unique way of dressing. It was rare to find an Akurinu who dressed differently, until recently.
When she was growing up, Wangari’s mother designed all her pleated clothes and her sisters’, then took them to a specific seamstress to stitch them.
“One day, I asked my mum to change the design,” Wangari said. “We all grew up wearing the same pleated skirts, but I wanted mine slightly different. My mother agreed to the adjustments but maintained the length.”
Wanting to look and feel distinct and be in sync with her creative side, Wangari began applying lipstick and baby powder on her face as makeup.
“I’d apply scarlet red lipstick while going to school and wipe it off when I reached home to avoid being rebuked,” she said.
When she finished school, she got a job as an accountant. Then she quit to become a makeup artist, a profession that raised concerns in church circles. At that time, she was the only known Akurinu makeup artist in Kenya.
Wangari now owns a beauty school that teaches 90 students a week, and she’s a model and an influencer on Instagram with 128,000 followers. On Instagram and YouTube, she goes by Carey Priscilla.
“For me, doing makeup is more of a calling. Before I quit accounting, I fasted and prayed for three days,” she said.
She has become a voice of hope for millennials who wear religious clothes but desire to feel more fashionable.
“I have maintained the modesty, but I no longer stitch my dresses or buy from the one outlet. I import affordable, full-length clothes from the U.S. or buy from flea markets in Nairobi,” she said.
Her changing wardrobe has everything from single-shoulder, glittery, body-hugging dresses to strappy high heels and ankle boots and bold-colored, pleated skirts. She still wears headscarves, a signature piece of traditional Akurinu dress.
Wangari now receives paid offers and modeling jobs from skin care, makeup and fashion companies.
On her Instagram page, she posts photos for followers looking to expand their modest fashion choices. On one post, she wears a floor-length chiffon black dress with straps and bedazzled sequins at the top. In another, she has strappy high heels with a figure-hugging, black, slitted dress — her face made up with lipstick, fake eyelashes and eyeliner and her hair covered with a white headscarf. Years ago, this look was uncommon among Akurinus.
The tension between the young and old generations’ views on modesty stems from their differing interpretations of the Levitical laws in the Hebrew Bible. In the Bible, Joshua argues that the laws should be observed to the letter, while many Christians today believe Jesus superseded these laws and the covenant made with the Jewish people for a new covenant with anyone who believes — to forgive sins of those who turn to God.
Some critics argue that Wangari’s version of fashionable dressing goes against religious values. Does she think God cares what she wears or if she applies lipstick?
“No, it is my heart that He is after,” she said, adding that she still is an ardent believer and very prayerful.
To her, dressing fashionably does not mean defiance towards God or the church. But some church officials are uneasy about this shift.
“I remember when one official made a public announcement in church about my dressing,” she said. “The dress hemline was at my feet, but I let my shoulder be seen.”
Wearing makeup to church also raised eyebrows.
“Being a makeup artist meant I lived like one, so I’d apply makeup [for] church,” she said. “I was a Sunday school teacher, and I had to step down when parents complained that their children would ask them for lip gloss because they’d seen me in lipstick, which was a different look than they were used to seeing.”
But to her joy, she said that the Akurinu church is gradually changing its views on women’s modesty.
“I made it easier for girls to start wearing makeup,” she said. “Church members soon started hiring me as a makeup artist during weddings and choir performances. Right now, things are changing. I’m not the only Akurinu makeup artist.”
A model for different faiths
Wangari has become a role model to a new generation of lifestyle bloggers from across different faiths.
“People who follow me and commend me aren’t all Akurinus, and some don’t care about religion,” Wangari said. “They just like my style.”
Fashionable, modest dress is no longer attached to one religion. A new generation of Muslims is also swapping “abayas” (black, long-sleeve, floor-length dresses) and hijabs (the headscarves that cover the hair and neck) for clothes that they think are more in vogue.
“Muslims are now buying palazzo pants and loose-fitting, flowy cotton dresses because these clothes are trendy and modest — they do not hug the body,” said Khadija Mahmoud Ali, a Muslim architect whose nontraditional wardrobe has pieces such as thigh-high boots, body-hugging turtlenecks and leggings.
Islam, she said, encourages women to wear modest clothes that do not explicitly reveal their body shape or skin.
“Yes, the turtleneck is body-hugging, but it covers my neck, and I wear it with a low-cut, long dress,” Ali said. “For leggings, I wear them with a high-slit dress to cover up. Thigh-high boots are linked to sexiness, which is un-Islamic, so I wear them with a slightly longer dress.
“You can even wear a crop top modestly by pairing it a high-waisted palazzo trouser to cover up the belly. Add a long sweater or trench coat if you want to cover more. You don’t need to wear unflattering clothes. You can be modest and fashionable.”
She added that luckily, her dressing has not caused resistance in her community.
Diana Mwango is a journalist based in Nairobi. She is currently working as an Editor at Business Daily.