Doreen Mashika founded her eponymous brand in Zanzibar in 2007. Born and raised in Tanzania, Mashika studied and worked in Switzerland before returning home to establish a fashion business. Whilst in Switzerland, Mashika worked in luxury goods fund management, giving her an insight into the fashion industry, although she has no formal training in fashion design.

Mashika’s collections are inspired by the cultural heritage of Africa, especially Tanzania, and khanga is very prominent in her designs. Khanga, also known as leso, is a printed cotton textile popular in East Africa. Rectangular in shape, khanga designs typically have three parts; the pindo (a border), the mji (the central design) and the jina, a strip of text, usually a common saying. Khanga is designed and sold in pairs which are worn together, wrapped around the body. Khanga became popular along the Swahili coast at the end of the 19th century. It is believed to have developed from a merikani, a type of unbleached cotton cloth imported from the US. In the early days khanga was produced largely abroad but following independence from Britain, textile mills were set up in Kenya and Tanzania from the late 1960s and khanga began to be produced in large quantities in East Africa.

Mashika purchases the khanga for her designs at the local markets in Zanzibar. This ensemble is from the Mikono collection. Developed in 2019, Mashika was inspired by the stylish women of Paje on the south-east coast of Zanzibar, and the woven baskets they carried. Working with women in Paje, she created pieces which incorporated woven grass into the design. The bodice being acquired was designed for the Mikono collection and then styled with khanga wrapped as a skirt.