Claire Namukolo Raven: The One-Woman Powerhouse Behind Cheshire Fashion Week

Claire Namukolo Raven, CEO of Cheshire Fashion Week.

Credits: Claire Namukolo Raven

“It is lonely at the top” indeed.

Are we allowed to exhale out of exhaustion once we finally “make it”?

Or is being “at the top” a never-ending grind that rewards us with crystal castles that require constant polishing and smoke-and-mirrors that need to be maintained — at least at surface level?

After attending the gala that preceded the grandiose Cheshire Fashion Week, I was left with a lot to think about… and an intense fever that forced me to bed while models were strutting in the artificial glow, kissed by flashes and by the avid glares of the audience.

Attending events is not only a job for me, but a hobby, so when I step into a venue and watch my surroundings, I understand straight away where “the bodies are buried.”

After a few clues on LinkedIn, while sipping ginger tea, I finally had the confirmation of my suspicions about a huge, defining detail of what was going on behind the scenes:

it has been a one-woman production.

Although LinkedIn shows that Claire was looking for interns to help out, when I attended the night of the gala, I witnessed her doing all the groundwork and handling multiple tasks per time, while remaining patient and professional towards the waves of chatty, demanding, and inebriated guests.

Don’t be mistaken though: Claire is no “beginner” or amateur; besides being a Black woman (which forces you to be sharp in a society that has misogynoir as its bread and butter — and I would know as a Black woman myself), Claire is a Law LLB student (a First Class one), a professional speaker and activist (alopecia cause), and founder and former director of Hair Heals CIC.

At the gala night, Claire held the mic and acknowledged all the creatives in the room, and with a warm but firm maternal voice, insisted how they should keep believing in themselves to reach their goals, using her own story as an example — but without sugarcoating the bits — and highlighted how much hard work, self-belief, and determination play a part in the journey to succeed.

I will never get over the shock of the realisation that she does all of it on her own, while studying, taking care of her family, and facing on the daily what it means to be a Black woman. Compartmentalising all of it so well, teaching all of us while being the living example that “the sky is the limit.”