This year’s Lesotho Fashion Week (LSFW) is set to take place between May 3 and 5, 2019 at Mpilo Boutique Hotel. The show will showcase the Spring Summer 19 women and men’s wear collections by designers from all over the world. Ts’episo Isabella Mokobori, a media production assistant with LSFW, said the event is meant to bring together designers and all other stakeholders in the fashion industry to map ways forward, and present a platform for them to share their interests in fashion. They would also have an opportunity to market their brands and meet other people who they might be able to work with within the industry while affording designers the chance to find retail buyers.
society
May 2, 2019
LINEO MABEKEBEKE
5 min read
Mpilo Boutique hotel to host Lesotho Fashion Week
“This is where fashion buyers go out and finds designers that they feel are creating collections that are in line with what they are trying to do. They will then buy the collection from them, or sign a contract with a particular designer, which means they will be designing with them for the coming years,” she said.
The whole idea of establishing LSFW, she said, was to expose Lesotho in the fashion industry and to help Basotho designers penetrate the fashion industry and the actual fashion market.
She said there are a lot of designers some of whom do not have the exposure that they need, or do not know how to go about receiving such exposure while others misinterpret what it means to be a designer, as many mistake it with owning a clothing company or being a retailer.
Mokobori explained a designer as someone who literally sits down and comes up with a concept and tells a story with their clothing.
Speaking about the activities lined up at the event, she said the first day will be an introduction day, comprising red carpet networking, with designers meeting and greeting each other, while having fun.
On a second day there will be a solo show where all designers showcase their works amidst some performances in between while on the last day will be the trade exhibition from the designers where they will have their collections on display.
There will also be stalls from local people, together with few performance and demonstrations.
She said preparations for the event are progressing quite well, as they are getting a lot of traction from more people who are interested in LSFW and love the idea.
Mokobori encouraged people to buy tickets early to avoid missing out on parts of the show.
To publicise the event, Mokobori said they have done social media marketing and radio interviews. In addition, during the past weekend models were engaged in Maseru, handing out flyers and explaining what fashion week is about – that it is not just about designers, but about an entire production chain involving models, retailers, designers as well as buyers.
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Mokobori bemoaned Basotho’s tendency to do things in the last minute, and taking things too lightly which is why many are requesting to buy tickets right at the door which she strongly discouraged, urging people to get ready in time.
Since it is not their first time to hold fashion week, Mokobori said they were aware of their past mistakes and the things they can improve from the previous fashion week.
Therefore, she said, she was aware there are a lot of people involved compared to last year, as a result she sees greater success this year since some people were not aware that they took place last year. She attributed this to the fact that they found a better way to market themselves than last year.
“But again, Basotho still do not understand the concept of fashion week. They are used to going out to clubs, and not focusing their energies on how they can make use of influences by other fashion designers from countries like France, Tokyo and Asia who have their own fashion language,” she continued.
Cydney Eva from Canada, a visual artist and a painter, partnering with Costa Besta from Durban South-Africa, a rapper and musician, say they are ready and looking forward to LSFW, which they said it is an exciting opportunity to collaborate with local Maseru dancers and models, and meet other designers from all over the Africa.
Cydney said all they want to run a colourful fashion art, dance and culture platform.
The two partners will be showcasing their newest collection of one of a kind engendered street wear, where everything is designed and sewn by them and whose fabric they have sourced from various shops in Durban.
As to how they see fashion industry globally, Cydney said it is not very sustainable since there is too much consumption of fast fashion and textile waste.
Although their garments are not 100 percent organic or recycled, they believe in slow fashion and try to use locally sourced fabric or up cycle vintage and fabric scraps and make everything by or with local seamstresses.
“We love seeing more colour, diversity and originality in the fashion industry,” Cydney noted.
Cydney said their company, Pattern-Nation, was founded in 2015 in Vancouver.
The fashion element of the company started with jewellery design and up-cycling vintage and since 2017 they have been producing their own original clothing that is all of a kind.
Felleng Hessini, a Mosotho lady who studied fashion and textile sciences in Port Elizabeth, said she has been thinking about participating in events like LSFW, so she is hoping to re-introduce herself to her existing customers and her brand to new customers, as a strong advocate of Lesotho initiatives, especially in the fashion and retail sector.
For her part, she said she started working on fashion long before she was even fully aware of what she was doing.
As a child, she was creative and loved creating accessories from pieces of fabrics and buttons she would find around the house. Besides that, she said she has a whole collection of school books that are filled with more designs than school work.
From a very young age, she knew she had a calling to be an artist and as the years passed, she was afforded the opportunity to further her passion through higher education in fashion and textile sciences.
The last LSFW was held in November 2018 at the Thaba-Bosiu Cultural Village where designers showcased the Autumn Winter 19 women’s wear and men’s collections from all over Africa.
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