The Fashion Lab Namibia and StartUp Namibia’s Fashion Branding programme

When Deon Angelo was hand-picked for a fashion internship with South African designer David Tlale, it was the stepping stone for launching his career. A career that has turned out to be one of the most inspiring in modern Namibian fashion history.

The internship started in 2016, after he had received his Fashion Diploma from the Haute Future Fashion Academy in Milan, Italy, the previous year. As a new graduate on the cusp of becoming a designer, he hadn’t officially applied for the internship, but he had caught the eye of David Tlale, who insisted on taking him under his wing.

Fast forward to more than five years later and Deon is an established designer giving other young creatives the opportunity to learn from him. Partnering with StartUp Namibia through his company, The Fashion Lab Namibia, Deon helps young Namibians to build a sustainable and successful fashion brand.

“What inspired me to create this programme was that I was privileged enough to go through mentorship at the start of my career. So I understand the importance of it. It helped me in my career to see how someone ran a business and to see how they handled things that you would also go through one day. It was easy for me to go forward with my business, to know what I wanted while learning from someone with more experience,” says Deon.

Uplifting young designers

Over the course of three months, the 12 participants will go through the mentorship programme co-facilitated by the Digital Transformation Center. They will be equipped with the skills needed to launch or upscale their fashion brands, including business skills like market analysis, invoicing and client relationship management (facilitated by StartUp Namibia). Other practical tools that participants will be introduced to include how to set up and run a business, understand intellectual property and launch a fashion brand that is sellable.

The Fashion Lab will empower participants with practical production skills like quality control and printmaking. Deon notes that after completing the programme, the designers should walk away with the ability to run a fashion business and understand all areas of a business. “We want to emphasise that as a designer you don’t have to focus on everything, but it’s always a bonus to understand all the steps in the production process.”

As part of the pitching process for selection, participants presented a host of ideas for businesses ranging from garment manufacturing, thrifting and upcycling, shoe-making and accessory design. Based on their five-minute presentations, the panel of judges decided whether the candidate’s vision had the potential to become an authentic Namibian brand with the right guidance and training. One of the judges, Varaakuani Hambira, says that the judging process was another indicator of how talented Namibians are. “It was really cool to see so much talent and to meet young designers who want to learn. It just shows that outside of the traditional fashion schools, there is a mentorship and up-skilling gap in our industry. The Fashion Lab and StartUp Namibia are taking the first steps toward filling it.”

Re-imagining fashion mentoring

As someone who went through a mentorship programme himself, Deon is confident that his collaboration with StartUp Namibia is unlike most mentorship programmes as it prioritises practical skills. He explains: “My journey as a mentee has helped me personalise this process. I am focusing a lot on practicality – taking the mentees onto the job on shoots and showing them exactly what they will go through in the real world.”

He notes that mentorship programmes are a great way to elevate the growing Namibian fashion sector. “The more designers understand the production phase, and the industry at large, the better the industry should be and the more qualified we will be,” he says. He adds that no matter how successful designers get, they should remember that sharing information is very important because it benefits the whole sector.

Only the beginning

Deon hopes that after the three months of mentorship the participants will walk away with a new outlook on their businesses. “My message to each candidate is to take time through this programme to find themselves, develop their skills and enjoy themselves. There’s no losing here, even though we’ll select a winner at the end of it all. To be part of this programme is a privilege”.

This is hopefully only the beginning for the bright young designers. There is no doubt that all, if not most of them, will use this platform to create their unique Namibian brand or elevate their existing businesses.

For Gettie Molokoshi, an upcoming fashion designer, the programme offers her the chance to gain the skills needed to scale her business. Currently running a multi-purpose fashion design and training business, Gettie has reached a point in her career where she wants to prioritise the areas of her business that have the potential to grow her brand, One Gem Fashions. “We have a lot of designers who unfortunately remain small businesses and ultimately fail to scale. I believe Namibia is growing its fashion industry and we are in a better position than ever before to capitalise on that.

From this mentorship I hope to learn more about developing winning fashion business proposals, pitch decks, sourcing and dealing with clothing manufacturers, sourcing for funding and ultimately developing good tech packs,” she says.

Rukee Kaakunga is a Windhoek-based Communications Specialist, Blogger and Freelance Fashion Writer. Contact her via email: rukeekaakunga@gmail.com and follow her on Twitter @rukeeveni and Instagram @rukeekaakunga