Bootylicious woman can and will be as fashionable as the rest - and a black, up-and-coming designer has found inspiration in her own "black bottom". With no fashion design qualification or background in the industry, Zanele Lawana traded her overalls for vintage clothing and has started her own label.A year ago Lawana was investing all her time in her job as a civil engineer but her dream of designing and owning a label proved too powerful to ignore.She grew up in Mdantsane and was drawn to fashion when she was only eight years old.''I loved watching The Bold and the Beautiful , and the glamorous outfits in the show inspired me to start sketching my own designs ," she says.But when it came to choosing a career her mother discouraged her from getting into fashion, where a successful future isn't guaranteed.Working on construction sites for several years meant that Lawana thought only as far as where to find an overall to compliment her body shape.But one evening she realised that instead of being stuck in the male-dominated world of construction, she wanted to devote her energy to making big-bottomed women feel confident and comfortable in her designs.Lawana had always had trouble finding clothing to fit her body shape: size 30 bust and 38 bottom.When she started making clothes that fit perfectly on her body, the seed was planted to start a business that would create the ''perfect fit" for others.Fast forward a few years and Lawana's beauty, brains, great fashion sense and commitment led to the opening of her first clothing shop in Maboneng precinct, Johannesburg, six months ago."Although most of my designs take the fuller figure into account, my styles aren't all limited to being suitable for small waists and big bottoms. I have dresses that cater for all types of body."The intention is to create clothes made locally that fit, no matter the shape of the woman," she says.''My vintage-style garments make the curvaceous woman feel comfortable but also beautiful - they're for woman with a little extra booty," she says."What makes the brand different from other designers is that I myself am a 'black bottomed' woman, dressing women with the same kind of challenges." .Lawana's next step is to showcase her designs at one of the local fashion weeks next year and her greatest ambition is to dress outgoing Public Protector Thuli Madonsela and US first lady Michelle Obama"I want to dress powerful and influential woman like Madonsela and Obama, both of whom have black bottoms. I admire their strength as African women and I want my brand to be associated with that," she says...