Lynette Anderson’s career in the fashion industry began when she was 18 years old, under the influence of her mother who was a fashion designer. Since then, she has made great contributions to the industry through her hard work and dedication. Anderson is the proprietor of the Nairobi Fashion Market, an event that showcases authentic Kenyan designs, both established and upcoming.

As a student at State House Girls’ High School in Nairobi, Anderson never planned go into fashion. She loved biology and chemistry, and therefore fully expected to end up in the world of science and medicine. Upon completing high school, however, her interest in the sciences wore off. Encouraged by her mother, as well as her father who worked in marketing, she enrolled at the United States International University to pursue a degree in International Business Administration.

While still a student, she was signed by Surazuri modelling agency and began a career in modelling. In 2004, she participated in the Miss Kenya beauty pageant and emerged second runner-up. After graduating from university, Anderson was hired as an administrator and personal assistant to the chief executive officer of Alison Production Company. She was later promoted to the position of Production Coordinator. Her job taught her how to mobilise and manage resources, a skill that came in handy later in her life. She left her job after a short while to work in Zaramu House of Design, her mother’s interior design company, which focused on making beaded artefacts for home interiors. Here she learned how to do beadwork and to construct lampshades and cushion covers. While working at Zaramu, Anderson noticed the lack of market outlets for local designs. She herself could not find a platform on which to expose her products to a wider market.

With this in mind, and feeling a need to create her own art independently from her mother, she set out to look for premises to set up the Nairobi Fashion Market in 2010. She faced many challenges at first, but her determination to support craft designers kept her going.  Her first event had only 68 exhibitors and she lost more than Ksh800,000. Nonetheless, she dusted herself off and organised a second event. Several years down the line, the event is now held twice a year and has made a name for itself in the industry. Nairobi Fashion Market now features top fashion designers like Ann McCreath’s KikoRomeo and has provided a platform for many start-ups in the industry. Anderson is committed to ensuring that the Nairobi Fashion Market promotes the Kenyan fashion industry, fashion businesses (boutiques) and designers, since the idea is to build awareness, market local designs and sell them. The event has since become Nairobi’s largest fashion and lifestyle shopping event.

At the 2015 Asian Weekly Achievers Awards, Nairobi Fashion Market was voted the Best Fashion Event of the Year. Anderson also won a prestigious Female Entrepreneur Award. In the same year she began organising another event, the Kidawa Natural and Organic Market. Over the years, Anderson has been giving back to society through a clothing charity collection at the Nairobi Fashion Market where shoppers can contribute old clothes to the needy. She is also working with groups from Kibera and Kariobangi, providing them with a space to sell their wares so that they can support themselves. Additionally, she frequently shares her experiences with aspiring designers and event organisers, and offers advice on how to progress in the industry. She believes that there is a lot of talent in the country and that it only needs to be nurtured in order to blossom.