20 May 2024

Local Designers Exhibition in Gaborone on Saturday accorded designers a platform to impress as well as highlight their talent and design prowess.

BOPA caught up with some designers at Cresta Lodge and one of them, Thato Mminatau of Glitz Fashion Design, expressed her excitement about the event, sharing that fashion had always been her passion.

Since being a designer in 2010, she has won numerous awards locally and internationally.  Among others, Mminatau won the Best Designer Award from the youth ministry in 2015 and another Best Designer award in Lesotho in 2022. The designer also dressed former Miss Botswana, Lesego Chombo.

Another remarkable designer, Onalethata Morgan, known in the fashion industry as Melissa said she gained popularity on TikTok for her traditional dresses for children. 

Melissa thanked her mother, also a designer, for inspiring her from a young age.

Botswana-based Kenya native, Nancy Joel, showcased Masai designs and cultural bags, which seemed to be a hit at the event. She also displayed beaded necklaces and Kenyan cultural shoes.

In an interview, Starlight Studios, led by former Miss Botswana national director, Daisy Botsoba, said the exhibition aimed to promote and enhance the creativity of Batswana designers. 

This event, she said, was a build-up to a cultural fashion show scheduled for June.

She said the June event would promote arts, culture, and design as well as African cultures through fashion design.  Botsoba said she was canvassing for support and sponsorship to back the initiative, which also promoted cultural exchange. ENDS