# Viral Ethiopian Instagrammer uses trash for fashion — retained record

> Retained news record from news:semafor.

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source: [news](https://highsignal.app/data/news) (news:semafor)  published 2026-07-13 12:52 ingested 2026-07-14 08:00

[original source ↗](https://www.semafor.com/article/07/13/2026/viral-ethiopian-instagrammer-uses-trash-for-fashion)

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His rapid rise to Instagram fame may be familiar but his designs are anything but.
Ethiopian content creator Kalu Putik has grabbed the attention of the fashion world with his outfits made from old clothes, shoes, and garbage scraps. Expressionless, he shows us a pair of shoes that suddenly become the base of an outfit: A pair of white lace-ups accent a fake grass ensemble and stone-adorned boots become a full rock-hewn get-up. Elsewhere, broken mirror shards and old sneakers are transformed into what could pass as haute couture.
“His designs are bold, oversized, and unapologetically dramatic, the kind that look right at home in a high-fashion editorial or on a runway,” writes Cosmopolitan.
Since his first post on March 30, the young creator has gained 6.5 million followers, impressing enthusiastic commenters drawn perhaps to his sustainable designs, aloofness, or uncanny ability to offer a truly unique aesthetic.
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document fetched 2026-07-14 08:00 · canonical https://semafor.com/article/07/13/2026/viral-ethiopian-instagrammer-uses-trash-for-fashion