For years we have seen Fashion Without Border (FWB) Africa growing and unearthing a lot of talent from Botswana and other Southern African countries. The event is one of those that upcoming fashion designers want to be part of.
This year, a talented young local fashion designer Lukundo Simpemba, founder of Bantu Gold saw his dream of participating in FWB that hosted in Gaborone over the past weekend turn into reality. “Bantu Gold is a Fashion brand that specialises in Modern African clothing. We combine inspiration from the traditional attires of our predecessors with modern European and American cuts.
I started it in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The name stems from the Bantu people who famously migrated across Africa and the world and traded skills with each other. We aim to do the same through our art and fashion," said Simpemba. Showcasing at the FWB has always been a dream. We have been preparing for the show since July when our application was accepted.
To be able to showcase along some of the best designers from across Africa is an opportunity that does not come around too often. So we had to work sleepless nights to ensure that we take the opportunity with both hands. A special thanks to the Kabisosos for building such a platform that helps designers achieve their lifelong goals, he said.
The young designer’s fashion house was one of the three that won the Mr Price Group Internship that would be taking place in Durban this year. He explained that the secret behind their win was attributed to the belief in themselves and making clothes that they would like to wear. He added that they loved experimenting adding that in their line of work, there was no idea that was too crazy and or no dream too big. Furthermore, he pointed out that Mr Price was a household name he looked up to.
He said since they managed to create employment across the world from clothes, Bantu Gold also plans on doing the same. He added that he was hoping to gain knowledge on the business of fashion and how to build a sustainable business from his passion. He said he would be asking a lot of questions and building his network with them.
Once done with the mentorship programme, he pointed out that he hoped to have more information on clothing distribution, sustainable manufacturing, logistical management, retail management and effective marketing. He also said the fact that he shops at Mr Price and now that they mentor him, is a true blessing. “The challenges I faced in preparing for the event where quite many.
I had to decide what to actually showcase. We work with denim, which is very difficult to manipulate on the sewing machines as compared to cotton. I also had to put a musical band together in the last week of preparation because I felt that the collection needed its own unique music performance to accompany it. On top of everything, I fell sick from exhaustion during the last week and was ordered bed rest by my doctor that I had to disobey. But all in all, every bump on the road was worth it,” Simpemba explained. From that experience, he said he learnt the art and importance of resilience. He added that perseverance pays adding that dreams were valid and advised aspiring designers not to let anything stop them from achieving it. Being relatively new to the fashion game, he said he was looking forward to gaining more accolades as time goes on.
He further said he saw Bantu Gold on Runways in Europe next to Louis Vuitton, one their biggest inspirations and others. He said he also wanted to build clothing factories, stores and offices that could employ the next generation of creatives in Botswana and across Africa. He added that he was forever grateful for the support people had shown Bantu Gold saying the brand was inspired by the unity of the African tribes. For her part, co-founder of FWB Africa, Tebo Bakwena Kabisoso said the event was a great success and superseded their expectations. She said the competition was a strategic add to the event as they strived to spread more information on fashion and educate designers who participated on the platform hence their partnership with the Mr Price Group. “In terms of following, the event has grown and shown a lot of potential and we are happy with the progress we have made thus far. Growth is still something we strive for in this industry.
We make small strides forward and at the same time take steps back and we are definitely not where we need to be. The problem is not that we do not have talent or that we are not ready but rather the landscape and positioning of the fashion industry is not allowing for sustainability. We are at a space and scale where we are able to measure up to international standards,” she explained. She further emphasised that they needed more events like FWB; need to understand what is meant truly by buying and supporting local, need to push boundaries and research on what is happening beyond borders so that they could have the competitive advantage they needed to position themselves in the right spaces. She added that Batswana do support the local fashion industry even though they still lacked education to further validate their support. “We are still attending these events for fun or a night out.
A shift in mindsets is necessary to change the narrative that fashion is for entertainment but rather fashion is a business. We thank all the sponsors who have been with us and still are growing with us as this event would have never been possible without them. Not only do we spread messages of fashion but also we advocate for causes that affect our community’s hence our partnership with Avon RSA,” she ended.
