Grace Achieng
"The future of fashion should be built on knowledge, not assumptions."
The founder and owner of Gracelandic fell in love with Fashion at the age of six, when her aunt bought her a dress. A long-sleeved sun-yellow dress with a black waistband and an A-shaped skirt.On the breast of the dress was a silver star and underneath it stood the words 5 STAR. She was star-struck, pun intended. This dress somehow had the ability to make her feel seen, powerful and happy, at a time she didn't feel visible. ''Each time I wore it, I became the dress. It’s that feeling that I intend to serve to the Gracelandic customers''. She says.
Grace is born and raised in Kenya, but Iceland has been her home since 2010.
Gracelandic stands for her personal journey since her arrival in the Icelandic community. A journey of immense learning, growth, self discovery, realising ones full potential, and giving back.
Grace has always believed that fashion can be a vehicle for positive change. Her passion for humanitarian work, women's empowerment, and child well-being has shaped both her personal journey and the evolution of Gracelandic.
What began as a vision to connect looking good, feeling good, and doing good has grown into a broader commitment to creating meaningful impact. This commitment led to the establishment of House of Grace, Gracelandic's social impact NGO, dedicated to advancing gender equality, ending child poverty, supporting community integration, and creating opportunities for women and children both locally and globally.
Inspired by her experiences in Kenya and Iceland, Grace believes that sustainable development must be rooted in dignity, justice, and opportunity. Through research, entrepreneurship, ethical fashion, and philanthropy, she seeks to bridge the Global North and Global South while contributing to a future where every child has the opportunity to grow up in a safe, healthy, and nurturing environment, and every woman has the opportunity to thrive.
Today, Gracelandic and House of Grace work together to demonstrate that fashion can be more than clothing; it can be a catalyst for empowerment, inclusion, and lasting social change.
At Gracelandic, sustainability is not a marketing slogan; it is a commitment to asking difficult questions and following the evidence wherever it leads. Our work is informed by academic research, life cycle thinking, and ongoing engagement with the social and environmental challenges shaping global fashion systems. We seek to bridge perspectives from the Global North and Global South, recognizing that the benefits and burdens of fashion are often unevenly distributed across the value chain.
For us, sustainability is a journey of learning, transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement. By combining research, responsible production partnerships, and timeless design, we create versatile, high-quality garments that support conscious consumption and are made to be worn and loved for years.
We envision a future where dignity, well-being, authentic circularity, and shared prosperity are woven into every stage of the fashion value chain; because the future of fashion should be built on knowledge, not assumptions.
Take a look behind the scenes of our latest product launch.
Our Factory
While our primary production has been based in İzmir, Turkey, through a family-owned factory recognized for its commitment to ethical production, gender equity, and long-term employment stability. We've also collaborated with a women-owned atelier in Romania, producing exclusive pieces under strict European Union standards.
In Kenya, we have begun production through partnerships with local artisans and small-scale manufacturers, supporting women's economic empowerment, dignified livelihoods, and the preservation of indigenous craftsmanship and textile traditions. We believe that sustainable fashion should not only protect the environment but also create meaningful opportunities for the communities that make it possible.
This work aligns with our broader mission and our founder's academic research focused on addressing the social and environmental challenges within global fashion systems, including textile waste displacement, inequality across value chains, and the need for more equitable models of production and consumption.
Our long-term vision is to strengthen local manufacturing capacity in Kenya, (outside known extractive Export Processing Zones (EPZ), support circular and regenerative systems, preserve traditional knowledge and artisanry, and contribute to a fashion industry that creates value for both people and planet.
About Us
Gracelandic is inspired by the potential for great business to drive value for all involved, where people, planet and profits are considered equally fundamental to business success. To realize these ideals, we’ve had to abandon the beaten track and invent an alternative route:
Slow Fashion 101
Here’s why Gracelandic’s collections are built with Slow Fashion Principles;
Control over production = elevated brand experience
Instead of outsourcing our production, we invested in an exclusive agreement with our one and only factory. This means we control every aspect of the production process.
Design and fit tailored to figure
Fast fashion outsourcing leads to inconsistent fits, which can be unflattering to the figure. Our fit process includes 2-3 rounds of samples on real models til the sample fits right. The result is a consistent and flattering design and fit throughout our collection.
Made to last
Our products are manufactured in Europe, with decisions being based upon the origins of the raw materials, expertise, working conditions & production capacities. The modernity and working conditions of our factories are an essential element of our choice.
Fast fashion has its place, but do you really want your whole wardrobe to wear out after one season? We believe it is worth investing in select investment pieces that will last for years and can be passed down to generations.
Our garment construction takes longer
Building pieces that lasts takes time and focus on details. Our average garment takes 20 hours to construct vs. 4 hours at typical fast fashion production line. Each detail is meant to extend the life of the garment, including hand-stitched detailing, binding on the seams for longevity, and select interior lining for protection. Unlike fast fashion, where an assembly line of dozens of workers work on a single garment, fewer people are touching each piece, which leads to a higher attention to detail and quality. This means that our pieces will outlast our cheaper counterparts.
We source luxurious fabric
There’s no denying it, cheap fabrics wear out. We select fabrics based on feel and durability, not on cost.
Our ethical approach
We engage in smaller, smarter production runs, creating small batches of only what we need, with less excess stock. We aim to waste as little material as possible, and repurpose it whenever we can, creating scrunchies, head bands, scarves, hats and other accessories from fabric scraps that would otherwise be discarded.
Gracelandic is inspired by the potential for great business to drive value for all. Sustainability to us means generating value in three dimensions (3D) - the “triple bottom line” or our three P‘s - in which people, planet and profits are considered equally fundamental to business success.
We hope you feel the joy and love that was put in each individual piece.