Mohalenyane Phakela
THE organisers of the Lesotho Fashion Week (LSFW), scheduled for August this year, have postponed the event to February next year citing the need to prepare the participants.
LSFW is the brainchild of United States-based designer Bokang Ramoreboli with the intention of developing the local fashion industry.
She told Xpress People this past week that the fashion show they held last month at Maseru Mall had revealed that local designers still lacked the skills to showcase their wares on a platform such as LSFW. The red carpet event was meant to be a precursor to the fashion week.
“We held the Lesotho Fashion Week launch event last month featuring some of the local designers. I realised they have the talent but it still needs polishing for them to rub shoulders with international acts,” said Ramoreboli.
“I also realised that models don’t have proper grooming to execute the catwalk on a fashion runway because what they know is pageantry modelling.
“The poise of modelling fashion outfits is different from that of a pageant. All these factors compelled me and the team to shift the fashion week to a later date to allow us to equip the designers and models so that they will match the standards of international designers who will be here during the Lesotho Fashion Week in February.”
She said they would now hold a fashion and modelling competition starting next month. The competition is scheduled to start during the first week of June until the end of August.
The winning designer, Ramoreboli said, would be featured in a fashion show in New York City alongside the winning model, while the top four finalists will get the chance to showcase their designs at LSFW.
She said the competition would equip the entrants with the knowhow of the designs that appeal to the international market and those that can best market the Mountain Kingdom in a unique way.
“Lesotho has a very rich traditional attire heritage that has not been showcased to the rest of the world. So, if local designers can have the skills to showcase them before someone else from outside does, we will be untouchable,” the AllFlo Couture designer said.
“The fashion week will feature international designers, some of which I have worked alongside in fashion shows in America. Therefore, the event will also enable local designers to interact and share ideas with big names in the game.”
She added: “I will also be taking the top designer and model to a fashion show in New York and they will have the opportunity to work alongside me out of their comfort zone.”
Ramoreboli said more details of the competition would follow in the press and Lesotho Fashion Week social media.
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