This past weekend saw an event popularly known as the ‘All White Party’ where, as the name suggests, revellers wore white clothes, staged in Maseru.
It was at this event where Joachim garments made history as the first local designer brand to be worn by many Basotho.
Katiso Tsoho, the founder of the brand is a 24-year-old Health Information Management graduate which he obtained at Botho University.
Surprisingly, he has no educational background regarding to fashion and describes himself as a ‘self-taught’ fashion designer.
“I never went to school for fashion designing. It is something that I learnt on my own and perfected on my own,” he said.
Tsoho said he got into the industry through his curiosity in the art. He always thought there was a missing touch in the existing fashion industry that he could not get anywhere. That is when he decided to start creating ideas in his imagination to life by sewing clothing pieces for himself using his grandfather’s machine. This all happened when he was still at Botho in 2018.
From making clothes for himself, people started asking him to design some wear for them. That boosted his passion to move on making him an attraction to many fashion lovers.
Tsoho describes the feeling of seeing his brand making such a mark as humbling.
“My team and I worked so hard this past week to meet all the orders for the All White Party. On some days, we only managed three hours sleep. I already knew that we were going to make history at the event due to the many orders we received, but seeing it on the actual day was so humbling. I am grateful to Basotho for their tremendous support,” said Tsoho.
He hopes of making it into the international world now that he has made his mark locally. That for him, is a dream not too far away.
“Making it to Paris is my ultimate goal. As we know, Paris is the heart of fashion. So if I get recognised there, I will know that I have made it as a fashion designer.”
His advice to upcoming designers is that they should be original and not try to copy what already exists. They should bring something that’s missing, and those with the same taste will definitely buy in,” he thought.
To place an order, contact Joachim Garments on their Facebook page, or call them on 59155530
