Sanah Designs
Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
FASHION designer Saneliso Mpofu of Sanah Designs showcased an outstanding collection at this year’s Tshwane Fashion Festival which saw her being selected to further showcase in Ghana at the Mercedes Benz African Fashion Festival (MBAFF).
MBAFF is the biggest fashion festival in Africa and will run from May 28 to May 29.
At the Tshwane Fashion Festival, Mpofu’s collection was themed Broken Raven. The collection was inspired by young African girls who were captured by Nigerian rebel group Boko Haram and later on set free.
According to Tshwane Fashion Week organisers, judges were impressed with Mpofu’s collection prior to it hitting the ramp.
“Before designers showcasing on the ramp, a quality assurance is done on their garments and that helps assess who has outstanding workmanship. And also the response of the audience also helped to make selections,” said the organisers in a statement.
Mpofu showcased in South Africa alongside 21 designers from South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.
The designer, who was the only local at the fashion festival, said she was overwhelmed by the reception she got in South Africa and is looking forward to exposing her talent in Ghana.
“It’s really humbling to be given an opportunity to showcase in Ghana. I’m glad that I fully represented Zimbabwe at Tshwane Fashion Festival and I’ll do the same in Ghana.
“Zimbabwean fashion is alive, it only needs our designers to invest in quality and training,” said Mpofu.
She said she was now preparing for MBAFF where she intends to come up with a different collection although using the same African inspired theme.
“The collection I showcased in Pretoria revealed the pain felt by the girls when they were in captivity and colours used represented the black and white people of Africa.”
Mpofu is no stranger to fashion runways as she has showcased at the Durban Fashion Fair, Intwasa Fashion Show, Matabeleland Fashion Week and Clothing Indaba, among many other fashion fairs.