Talented Letsebe devoted to fashion
Gasebalwe Seretse | Thursday December 18, 2014 11:48
The 22-year-old fashion enthusiast from Boikago Ward in Palapye fell in love with fashion as a teenager and has since not looked back.
“I realised I wanted to have something to do with fashion while doing my junior secondary education, though I didn’t know exactly what. I didn’t have anyone to give me direction,” says the self-taught fashion stylist and blogger.
Letsebe then started in styling himself and impressed his peers often, who wanted him to style them. After finishing his high school, Letsebe proceeded to Botho College to study for his AAT, a course that he soon dumped to follow his real passion.
“I realised that I was doing something that I didn’t like so I decided to quit and focus on my first love, which is fashion,” he says.
Ever since joining the fashion industry, he has worked with some of the biggest names in the local fashion scene such as Tsholo Dikobe, Uyapo Ketlogetswe, Game Mothibi and Cynthia Mothelesi who have mentored him in many ways.
“One of the highlights of my career was working with fashion designer Mothusi Lesolle when he was putting a collection together. I acted as an assistant. I learnt a lot from that stint,” he says.
Letsebe also had a gig on Yarona fm presenting a fashion slot on a show hosted by Carlos Makgato. He asserts that it gave him untold pleasure to give Batswana fashion tips on Pap and Fashion with Thapelo, which he presented from September 2013 till March this year when the show host left radio.
“I have realised that nowadays we have a good number of fashionistas presenting similar shows on different radio stations. I am happy about that because I know that I have been an inspiration to them,” he says.
He has also dressed and styled Sasa Klaas.
According to Letsebe, styling entails preparing and altering designs to the clients’ demands and also helping them choose suitable accessories to go with the outfits. He says Botswana unlike other countries does not have its own fashion week pointing out that it works against the advancement of the industry.
“A fashion week gives people of the same passion a platform to mix and mingle. If we had an event like that in Botswana, people in the industry would get an opportunity to grow because of the exposure.
A fashion week also gives young people in the industry the opportunity to learn from industry leaders,” he says.
Letsebe further says it is difficult for him and his peers to travel to other countries to interact with experts in the industry at their all-important fashion gigs because of the costs involved. He also says that he is saddened by the fact that government seems reluctant to sponsor those who want to study courses related to the fashion industry saying this stunts its growth.
He decries that Batswana generally do not take fashion seriously saying that leads to gifted people choosing different careers in order to survive. Letsebe says that he strongly believes that people should not be forced to give up on their dreams.
How his single parent mother reacted to the news that he had quit school to pursue his dream career? “My mum was greatly disappointed. She really wanted me to sit in the office and do a white collar job, but I am happy to say that she now embraces what I do,” he says. While he concedes that he could be making more money doing an office job, his clients understand the industry and therefore pay him well.
“You sometimes get those famous clients who want you to style them for free insisting that they will credit you for your job, but people need to understand that we also have bills to pay,” he says.
Although not a priority, the young stylist says that one of his dreams is to pursue a degree in fashion design in South Africa in the future. Letsebe says that he draws his biggest inspiration from Karl Lagerfeld whom he believes is a visionary and is daring. His favourite quote from Lagerfeld is, “My thing is to work hard so that I prove everyone else is useless”.
For his part, Letsebe says, “I may not necessarily want other fashion enthusiasts to feel useless, but I do work hard to make a name for myself. My nirvana would be walking into a room full of international designers, editors, stylists and other creators and not introduce myself. I want my works to speak volumes.”