SelfServiceSeries ___Anisa Mpunguwe___

 

Right after reading this post you’ll meet your hand somewhere mid-air for a good high 5!

 

As you may -& should- already know, Anisa Mpunguwe is the creative director of LOIN CLOTH AND ASHES who recently opened a flagship store this year in the urban heart of JHB; on Kruger Street, in the Maboneng Precinct. After winning the ELLE New Talent search, she has taken her designs all over the world from New York Fashion Week to Mozambique, growing from strength to strength in her career as a fashion designer.

 

Anisa Mpunguwe is not only a proudly African designer who is bursting at the seams with creative talent  but I can also guarantee a colossal wave of prominent awesomeness from this young lady. I was honoured to land an interview with her, decoding her clandestine elements for you guys. 

Here is why I strongly am proud and inspired by Anisa's work and identity...

 

 

I am a pretty down to earth girl and have introvert tendencies that may come across as being anti social because I can be very shy. But I have a very strong spirit purely from the way I was raised. I’m full of surprises sometimes I surprise myself.

 

 

· What do you believe makes a quality article of clothing?

 

1. Something that is relevant, well designed, well made and that can last a long time.

 

· How do you balance your job with other obligations – friends, spiritual life, family and other activities?

 

2. It was very difficult in the beginning because all I did was work, Sunday to Sunday. I realised that what I do cannot take a front seat from my relationships with the people I care about. Life is far too short. So I created rules and allocated time for everyone. It’s still challenging but it so much better when it’s organised.

 

· With fashion being such a fast growing field and flamboyant profession. How do you handle the competition and emerge from the rest?

 

3. I think as long as you are authentic competition is irrelevant because you’re doing something with a unique barcode. I can never be another designer and another designer can never be me. How I handle the noise is I shut it out and focus on what my client wants. I don’t watch a lot  of TV  and lately I buy magazines lot less, I’m not clued up on the social scenes at all and that really helps me stay focused.

 

· If failure wasn’t an option,what else would you pursue?

 

4. Be in the music industry as that’s a close second passion of mine. But not as a singer, the nerves would kill me.

 

· I think fashion is one thing to the world, and it’s another to the people who work in it. What do you wish people would understand about working in the fashion industry?

 

5. If you don’t have the passion for it, forget it, because every day is a challenge and passion is all you have, and it’s addictive.  Many people see the designer take a bow at the end of the show but have no idea that it took 6 months to make a 20minutes show, or a magazine had a printer supplier problem before an issue go tout or worse, the dress you bought from that department store was made by a slave somewhere in the world. It’s a harsh reality, I know, but every industry has their story.

 

·  Complete this sentence... My happiness is…

Mine.

 

 

· How important is image to you being a young black woman, and do you ever feel pressured to keep the polished on camera look even outside the work environment or live up to a certain beauty standard in general?

 

6. I think one must look presentable always. I had enough practise on this from a very young age being anambassador’s daughter. But I also know bad hair and fat days exist.I’m not too hard on myself with that stuff . My mother has tried hard with me and has failed, though I am not a slob. I’m no celeb, just girl who makes clothes. I refuse to be pressured.

 

· What would you prescribe to other aspiring designers who look to crave a career similar to yours?

 

7. Words of Jill Scott - 

If you want it to happen, hold fast and believe .You can make it happen; you can be where you please.All you gotta do is try, then try once again, then try a few more times, then try after then.

 

 

Pics from Anisa’s tumblr. elle.co.za ,
andreakleinloog.com & flicker.com