After noticing a void in the fashion industry, former Big Brother Africa housemate Watipaso Kulemeka has woken from a deep slumber secu...
After noticing a void in the fashion industry, former Big Brother Africa housemate Watipaso Kulemeka has woken from a deep slumber securing a spot to showcase at RVK Africa Fashion Festival slated for 25 to 26 November at BICC in Lilongwe.
Popularly as Wati, now founder of a collection called "From Surf to Turf" which was inspired by Lake Malawi being Malawi's big influence, said he is bringing a set of 10 different fabric designs backed by 25 different garments for both females and males which he did singlehandedly.
"RVK Africa Fashion Festival is South African and it carters to all African countries and beyond, therefore it is a perfect platform for every designer. Once the world sees my work, it is going to bring a lot of business to me," Wati said in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
"Am going to showcase something that no African has ever done before, this is the first of its kind. Most Malawian up and coming designers like to play safe, they like to create something that has already been designed before for a sole purpose of selling it quick. My advice is think outside the box, be innovative," challenged Wati who admires Lilly Alfonso and Harry Kazembe on the local scene.
Quizzed if he thinks Malawians would take him seriously as a designer, he responded: "The main problem about the Big Brother show is they did not give a pen and paper to show what you can do. It was about entertaining the audience. I now want to prove that I am not just an entertainment object but also a professional designer."
Wati started designing when he was 16 years old in 2005.
Models wearing Wati's designed outfits
"My dad requested me to design a Roads Authority logo and that was also the first time I got paid for designing. So far, I have done components for vehicles, logos for roughly 30 companies, over 300 fabrics, inserts and small scale housing projects.
"After I did the Roads Authority logo, I enrolled at Lilongwe Technical College; I studied technical drawing and designing. I did it for two years until I was enrolled at a Malaysian college from 2007 to 2011," the former BBA housemate turned full time fashion designer disclosed.
He added: "Immediately, after I came back from Malaysia that was when I was chosen to represent Malawi at Big Brother Africa show. After the Big Brother show I had to re-evaluate what aspect of design I wanted to venture in. From Building design to actual entertainment design, meaning it could be furniture for an entertainment company, the fabrics themselves or clothing.
"My inspiration comes from my immediate surroundings; it could be an animal, floor or the arrangement of bricks."
Wati's favourite architectural designer is Antonio Calatrava while Versace and Gucci are his favourite fashion designers.
"My very favourite is Versace because they come up with intricate designs which may take me about a month to design," he said.
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