The Umzimvubu Local Municipality recently hosted a highly successful fashion show, attracting local, district, and provincial designers. The event aimed to showcase the talent of Umzimvubu’s residents, provide a platform for designers to exhibit their work, and boost the local economy.
In a historic event this year’s winner is a local designer from Mount Frere formally known as KwaBhaca, who is a self-taught designer. Dunyiswa Faye, started designing in 2021 doing it at the backroom of her home, after struggling a bit to find a job, although she never wanted to be a designer at first. “I was always fascinated with fashion, so I said to myself why I don’t learn while I’m still waiting to get hired,” she said.
Continuing she said, at first it was about her wanting to design her own clothes due to the lack of professional knowledge in designing and in fashion, she made a life changing decision and became a self-taught designer. “People started noticing my hand worker and they would ask where I got that and I would say I made it myself,” she said.
Faye further said, as the first born child, she was tasked to quickly come up with a plan, so after her graduation, she started designing her clothes. Faye mentioned that she started to showcase her designers at Umzimvubu local municipality fashion show in 2022, and then she took a break due to personal reason. This was a her comeback, as the break gave her sometime to grow her skills and indeed it paid because she was crowned as the overall winner at uMzimvubu local municipality taking home a grand prize.
Despite her success, Amo Grace Designees, the talented Faye, has faced her share of challenges. She shared some of the challenges she encountered since starting her design journey. One of the significant one was the shortage of materials, which often hindered her creativity. Dealing with clients who failed to pay for completed orders, she also encountered misunderstandings with clients who had unrealistic expectations about certain designs. Amo Grace would explain that a particular design might not flatter their body type, only to have the client insist on the original design. Additionally, Amo Grace struggled with the lack of recognition, which made it difficult to establish herself in the competitive fashion industry. Undeterred by these challenges, Amo Grace is focused on her future plans. She envisions opening a boutique shop where clients can browse and fit ready-made clothes. This will enable her to showcase her designs and provide a more personalized experience for her customers.
In the near future, Faye plans to collaborate with other designers to expand and grow her brand. With her talent, determination, and resilience, there’s no doubt that Amo Grace designers will continue to make waves in the fashion industry.
