By Neo Kolane
Lesotho Fashion Week (LSFW) has birthed the wool and mohair design contest, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic which has resulted in Lesotho’s biggest buyers of wool and mohair closing their doors to prevent the spread of the corona virus.
LSFW is the only high profile business to business marketing platform for fashion, footwear, accessory and jewellery in Lesotho. By acting as the optimal platform for a designer to start, develop and grow their business from, LSFW promotes showcasing designers to the media, retail buyers and their clients both in Africa and internationally.
Covid-19 has precipitated an unprecedented economic crisis worldwide. Sectors such as the agricultural sector who rely on exports continue to face challenges due to the recent lockdown that was imposed by countries in the past months to contain Covid-19.
Lesotho is the second largest producer of mohair in the world. And yet over 90 percent of wool and mohair produced in the country is exported to China, Japan, France, Egypt, England, The Netherlands, Norway, Italy and Australia in its raw form.
The founder of LSFW, Mahali Granier, told theReporter that the aim of the wool and mohair design contest is to ensure that a greater portion of natural fibres produced in Lesotho are processed in the country during this difficult time when borders remain closed, preventing farmers from trading internationally.
She further mentioned that the contest will help Lesotho farmers to secure other markets domestically, as failure to secure alternative markets could result in loss of income by all players along the value chain.
“Most of the livelihoods of rural women and men are already being deeply affected by the Covid-19 crisis especially those that live in areas that depend mostly on the sale of wool and mohair
“This initiative therefore promotes the use of wool and mohair as the fabric of choice when designers manufacture their collections, thus in turn stimulating the demand for wool and mohair produced in Lesotho.
“Four female local fashion brands that are currently participating in the content are Avant Cee Elle, Cograbig, Da Vna and House of Ellitha and Sontha. The winner of this contest will showcase a M20,000 full 10- piece collection made of wool and mohair, for free, at the next season of Lesotho Fashion Week,” she said.
The 20202 Lesotho Fashion Week was launched April 14, whereby designers that use wool and mohair as a primary yarn in the production of their pieces were invited to apply. The deadline for applications was on June 30.
Following the deadline, the best local fashion designers were shortlisted and are currently participating in a series of online fashion challenges where the general public is invited to vote for their favourite designer, either by via Instagram or Facebook voting system. Each week, one designer with the lowest public votes is eliminated. There are four designers currently left in the competition. The overall winner will be announced on September 30.
