Khulekani showcases in New York Fashion Week barely a month after Maswane showcased in the Paris Fashion Week ….

JEREMPAUL collection

Khulekani Sweli, Maswane Dlamini,   Tom Ford, Roberto Cavalli, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Coco Channel, Steve Madden, Victoria Beckham, David Tlale and Gert-Johan Coetzee .All these names should be on the tip of every fashionista tongue and every fashion bloggers data base. But the first two names on the list are hardly there if not there at all. We want them there and they are going to get there. There should be no barrier, no external force that will stop Khulekani and Maswane define African global fashion trends and be lead international designers .We need a massive operation for this one thus lets take on operation “Operation  Takeover”.

The first step of the operation is to have a law that governs the professions in Swaziland. People are letting the profession down, like seam stresses and the new crop of “fashion designers” that I will coin as “branding masterminds” have taken the industry by storm.  According to the Occupational Output Handbook, fashion designers create original clothing, accessories, and footwear. They sketch designs, select fabrics and patterns, and give instructions on how to make the products they designed. .If a brand master or seamstress or just any individual starts wrongfully referring themselves as a designer they need to be fined or jailed. It seems ridiculous but a profession without standards and respect can never achieve great heights.

The second step of the operation is to stop remaining small and go big. It’s ok to start off in a small backroom office but we need fashion houses in Swaziland. When the people that have the potential and skills are hiding and trading as local seamstresses, we do not have hope. Its time we have our own Fendi,Gucci or Moschino.

The next logical step of our operation is to have a mall or section of a mall where each real Swazi designer has a store.  For example, Centria Mall in Riyadh Saudi Arabia. Our designers have to start running campaigns and showcasing at fashion shows not the newspapers.EMC design in Manzini is a great example. Who can ever forget Cherry- N.It’s critical for Swazis to understand that if its couture you got to pay for it and not everyone can afford it, one can try the work of branding masters or Mr Price if they cannot afford.

The second is emphasis on fashion school. School is very important; a qualification does not pay bills and does not guarantee success but does guarantee excellence in designer pieces. According to the Occupational Output Handbook, fashion designers must have a bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as fashion design or fashion merchandising. For Example David Tlale in 2003 enrolled for a degree in Fashion Design at Vaal University of Technology. Government should make sure that a qualification from fashion school is made a provision at registration of designers and fashion houses in Swaziland and ensure that every designer is registered. There is absolutely no excuse because the University of Swaziland offers a Bachelor of Science in Textile and Apparel Design and Management.

Lastly, the Swazi government and institutions have a huge role to play, through offering scholarships at fashion school, jailing and fining the branding masterminds, Building the Fashion house mall and offering start up capitals to graduates of any related fashion field.

Operation Takeover seems ambitious but can be executed. Swaziland needs to be a player at a global level and achieve international success in all areas, fashion design is no exception. The good is that the talent is readily available what is missing is the hunger to have the names of Swazi designers on most fashion spreads and ultimately on the Forbes lists. What are your thoughts on the Swazi designers and the industry? Is Operation Takeover overly ambitious just like the headline? Dreams do come true right?