By Matṧeliso Phulane
Joachim Garments has been selected to showcase Basotho culture through fashion at one of the biggest runway shows called ‘Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL) 2024’ on October 25-27 this year.
This follows a call on designers and exhibitors to seize the opportunity to showcase their creations on their esteemed runway.
Joachim Garments is a Basotho luxury street wear brand that offers a wide range of clothing such as dresses, jackets, pants and more. The brand has been releasing various collections for both summer and winter since its establishment.
Founded in 2019, Joachim Garments is a fashion brand owned by a self-taught fashion designer, Katiso Tsoho, a Health Information Management graduate from Botho University. His masterpieces are inspired by Basotho culture and history.
Through fashion, AFWL proudly displays their rich culture and heritage, celebrating the creativity of designers from Africa and its diaspora.
The event returns for its 14th year of showcasing designers while embodying vibrancy, creativity and innovation representing the spirit of Africa.
In an interview with theReporter this week, Tsoho said the whole thing happened after a call for participation of all African brands.
After he saw the post, Tsoho post did not want to waste any time. He grabbed the opportunity to apply and suddenly got selected to be part of attending African designers.
According to Tsoho, the opportunity means the world to him.
“This means a lot to us because it says we will be telling or showcasing our brand or our design ethos to a different audience and most importantly, the international audience.
“Our source of inspiration comes from stories that happen in the Mountain Kingdom, meaning we will be telling, showcasing the Basotho way of living and heritage as well as culture of Basotho to international audience. This means so much to us as a brand because they will know better about Lesotho,” Tsoho expressed.
He noted that it is going to be their first runway show and through this prestigious event he hopes to learn a lot on how to curate the show and what should happen on runway shows. But most importantly, how other international brands operate.
Tsoho said networking is vital as he will get to link up with other designers and hear from them what they do and how they do it.
With Basotho culture and history at the core of his designs, Tsoho indicated that this contributes towards his growth because it makes it easy for him to grow.
“It is sort of like if somebody could ask who you are. It’s going to be easy to respond because you know yourself and what you do on a regular day and it’s exactly what it is about me.
“I love reinterpreting the modern Mosotho and the culture of Basotho, and try to present it in a different canvas which is fashion canvas. I think as Basotho we own such a descent sense of fashion which is so effortless,” he pointed out.
Tsoho said that is what he admires about a sense of fashion because even if it comes from less effort without having incurring expenses to buy expensive clothes, he will be able to put together pieces that set him apart from everybody else.
That is what makes Joachim Garments unique.
