Lesego Malatsi - SouthAfrica.TO

I N D W E S A F A S H I O N S P E C I A L
OF ALL THE designers to show off
their creations at this year’s London
Fashion Week, no-one shone quite as
brightly as Lesego Malatsi. Making
his international catwalk debut at one
of the biggest fashion events on the
calendar, the South African wowed
audiences and critics with his vibrant,
technicolour style, which perfectly
captures the Rainbow Nation. When
Indwe catches up with Malatsi
shortly after his arrival back in South
Africa, he still hasn’t left cloud nine.
“London Fashion Week was so
wonderful I can’t actually describe
it in words,” gushes Malatsi, whose
garments were described as 'hotter
than hot' by the event's organisers. “I
was apprehensive when I first went
but once I got to London I couldn’t
wait to showcase my designs. The
response was amazing and it way
surpassed what I expected. A lot of
people around the developed world
have looked at Africa, South Africa
included, as perhaps being inferior
when it comes to fashion in terms of
quality and design style. My wish is to
break that stereotype and make Africa
and South Africa competitive as a
place where new styles emanate from
and hopefully my time in London has
been a big step in the right direction.”
For Malatsi making it big in London
was the culmination of years of hard
graft to put the South African fashion
industry on the map. After battling his
way up the career ladder he started
the Mzansi Designers Emporium, an
Afro-centric fashion label that can
now boast a design showroom and
a wildly popular flagship store in
Johannesburg. By creating the label
Malatsi hopes to give other local
designers a leg-up and tackle poverty
in South Africa through job creation.
“The clothing and fashion industry
is labour intensive and I want to make
a real contribution when it comes to
tackling unemployment,” explains
the designer, who wants to create 850
jobs within five years. “By creating
jobs I hope I can help alleviate social
problems like the number of people
who live in poverty. It is something
that really drives me along.”
Having initially struggled to make it
as a designer, Malatsi knows all to well
INDWE NOVEMBER 2011
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