Fashion's plus-sized home

Going big in a developing local industry that has little government support takes guts - and that's something that LISOF Design and Retail Academy founder Shana Rosenthal has in abundance.

A little under 20 years ago, Rosenthal began the journey to develop one of South Africa's foremost fashion schools. That has led her to the ambitious project, recently completed, to create a home for LISOF. The three-storey building is situated in Johannesburg's residential suburb of Blairgowrie, and is fronted by a park that Rosenthal leases from the municipality in exchange for maintaining the park.

Rosenthal, 47, who studied fashion at Natal Technikon under one of South Africa's great fashion educators, Alyce Defty, now has more than 700 students. Big names in the South African fashion industry, including Tiaan Nagel, Thula Sindi and Suzann Heyns, have passed through the school.

''We started small in a basement at Boston Campus," she says.

''We moved to Norwood, and then to the Design District in Rosebank before the lease ended."

With their time in Rosebank over, Rosenthal and her students and staff agreed that a creative space was paramount to the creativity of the teachers, administrators and the students.

Architects Fiona Garson and Nina Cohen, who designed the Wits Art Museum, were commissioned to renovate Rosenthal's newly acquired building.

''We're into urban and suburban generation and we love renovations," says Garson.

''The awkward, dingy, disconnected spaces of the building didn't scare us at all."

''We loved the brief," adds Cohen.

''It called for clean, connected spaces that make great use of the fact that the building utilises both north and south aspects."

Their vision was to use existing parts of the building as far as possible, enhancing its qualities and reimagining its dingy bits.

''We opened up the front using a lot of glass and ramps. We added a transparent mezzanine level that looks onto the park outside, but also allows the people on the outside to see into the building," says Cohen.

Quirky elements of the original building were kept intact, like the round windows on the lower level, the two rows of square windows on the second and third floors and the small arches across the lower level. The crowning glory of the building is the LISOF free-standing sign on top of it.

''That was an element Shana insisted on," says Cohen, ''And it really works.

''Shana took a leap of faith with this building. She's uplifting the fashion industry, but at the same time uplifting the area in which the school operates."

The park will be maintained by the school to benefit the surrounding community - they're talking about having markets, holding events and fashion shows there, and Rosenthal hopes that restaurants, cafes and boutiques will move into the area.

''It's an educational hub bringing youth, creativity and culture into the area," says Garson.

• For more info visit www.lisof.co.za