As Head Designer of Thabo Maketha, Thabo needs to oversee the entire process of the brand's creations. In this article she lets us in on her job.
She’s a Head Designer of a fashion brand specialising in Sotho-inspired women’s wear, and she gave us a sneak peek into the her day-to-day life, so we could learn more about her career in the fashion industry.
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“I love the process of having an idea, bringing it to life and having people react positively to it. Fashion is about consistently trying out new things and people believing in your talent enough to take your word and creativity for it.”
Thabo started off her career in fashion soon after graduating from fashion design. “I’d applied to do an internship for a major European fashion house, but due to the global financial crisis opportunities for work dried up.
"I love the process of having an idea,
bringing it to life and having people react positively to it."
“I went from an optimistic graduate with potential to an unemployed graduate watching the world crumble.” While Thabo waited to hear from potential employers, she started supplying small orders from her clothing range. “Within three months my order book had grown to such an extent that my mom suggested I hire an assistant and work from new premises.” And from there, the self-entitled brand Thabo Makhetha was born – where she’s created collections that bring through her Sotho heritage
The role of a fashion designer is to design clothing and fashion ranges, whether it’s clothing footwear or accessories. Fashion designers usually work for high-end or designer ready-to-wear fashion brands where they are responsible for creating fashion designs by following a brief. They need to sketch designs and select fabrics and patterns to make the products they design. Fashion designers also need to analyse or predict trends in fabrics, colours and shapes. As the head designer of Thabo Makhetha, Thabo is also responsible for giving instructions to her team and how overseeing the entire process of her brand’s creations.
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We asked Thabo what her advice to aspiring fashion designers is, and this is what she had to say: “Fashion is a diverse industry and there's a lot of avenues for one to explore. Research the industry well. Starting a successful clothing brand is one of the hardest things to do. Decide very early on whether you want popularity or a sustainable business as the two are often mutually exclusive.”
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