Hint of kasi: Gauteng jumps on brand wagon

28 July 2016 - 10:52 By Rea Khoabane

Design has no borders, according to Gauteng Tourism. The agency recently launched an initiative to connect local designers with people from other African countries.Using the hashtag #GPLifestyle, it selected the urban designers Melori, Casanyumba and Originally Kasified Clothing to travel with their brands to Botswana to raise awareness of their products.Katlego Kondlo calls her jewellery brand Melori after her late grandmother. "My grandmother taught me how to use my hands to make beautiful things. We would sit together to knit and sew when I was growing up," she says.Kondlo left her corporate job to start the brand two years ago. "I want to start something for my kids. My grandmother was a domestic worker and I feel we owe it to the older generation to be entrepreneurial."Made from printed fabrics, her range includes tassel and button earrings, neck pieces and bow ties."I design for the corporate African woman who wants to keep traditional elements to her look," she says. Designer Carla Thomas of Casanyumba creates contemporary African furniture, accessories and homeware."I created my own decor brand when I found that most decor shops don't accommodate my style," she says.She imports her printed fabrics from the Democratic Republic of Congo and countries in west Africa. Thomas says her designs are made for anyone who loves African culture and finds traditional patterns beautiful.Her accessories for the home include cushions covered with Ankara print and bedside lamps made from beads in a Ndebele pattern.Situated in Soweto, Originally Kasified Clothing is unapologetically urban street fashion. The brand is owned by Muzi Mabena and Loyiso Dyanty.Kasified comes from kasi, which is slang for "township" . "The brand fuses what we see as elements of a 'jazz' lifestyle," says Mabena. "I grew up in a household in which my father constantly played jazz music. My designs are a way for me to communicate with him."Mabena found the brand-exchange exercise in Botswana enriching."I drew inspiration from Botswana to interpret into my designs," he says.Barba Gaoganediwe, head of communications at Gauteng Tourism, says: "These kinds of projects aim to attract tourists from neighbouring countries to Gauteng by exposing them to our great local design market."..

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