A Tribute to Wangari Maathai
The roots of courage often begin invisibly, as something quiet, steady, and persistent beneath the surface. Before they blossom into movements, awards, or revolutions, they start with a question, a choice, or a refusal.
For Wangari Maathai, that choice was to plant a tree. And then another. And then 51 million more.
As the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Wangari didn’t separate ecology from humanity. She understood them as one. Trees were not only trees; they were food, water, shelter, dignity, democracy. She founded the Green Belt Movement, empowering rural women in Kenya to reforest their land, rebuild their communities, and reclaim their voice.
"You cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, you inform them, and you help them understand that these resources are their own," she once said.
Her courage wasn’t the kind that shouts. It was the kind that stands. Even when she was tear-gassed, beaten, imprisoned. Even when the world underestimated her. She stood rooted like the forests she helped to restore.
This season, we name one of our most purposeful garments in her honor: the Wangari Coat, crafted in deep grape wool - rich, enduring, elegant. It’s a coat that shields, wraps, and warms with grace, just like the legacy of the woman behind its name.
The Wangari Coat is made to last for years, even decades, reminding us with every wear that elegance and responsibility are not opposites. That what we choose to wear can reflect what we choose to care about.
We envision this coat on women who walk slowly but fiercely. Who plant seeds of change in everyday soil. Who believe that what is good for the Earth is also good for the soul.
Wangari’s story is not hers alone. She followed in the footsteps of other fearless African women who used their voices and bodies as instruments of change: Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Nigeria’s first female political activist; Miriam Makeba, who sang truth to power across apartheid’s borders; Leymah Gbowee, who, like Wangari, helped end civil war through women-led peace. Each of them carved space for the next. Each of them held the line. So Wangari could plant hers.
At Son de Flor, we believe clothes are not just pieces of fabric. They’re stories. They’re values you can wear. With each design in our Rooted Courage collection, we remember women like Wangari not just with words, but with form and function. Timeless pieces. Honest materials. Clear intention.
In the months to come, we’ll share more stories like this - of women who were nearly forgotten, yet paved the way for so much of what we stand on today. Their courage lives not only in books and speeches, but in the folds of linen, the silhouette of a collar, the curve of a coat.
Their legacy, like a seed, keeps growing.
