Popular fashion designer in the river town of Rundu, Flora Naledi Victor used to make clothes for her dolls by hand at the age of six. After getting a sewing machine and lessons from her mom at 11, she started altering her clothes and now makes a living designing and sewing garments for clients.
The 22-year-old now runs ‘Flora’s Designs’, and customers flock to her shop looking for gorgeous designs that fit them perfectly.
Flora tells VIBEZ! she grew up with a love for modelling and designing women’s clothes.
“As a child, I wanted to participate in modelling competitions but a lot of things made me not to, i.e., requirements of being slim and a family that believed modelling was a waste of time, so I let it go and decided to focus on designing clothes,” she noted.
Between 2011 and 2015, while still in secondary school, Flora designed and sewed pieces just for herself as part of the learning purposes.
“When I was in grade 12, I was asked to do bowties for my classmates for a year-end function and they were actually impressed with my work. That boosted my confidence, and I started sewing for customers and started making money from my hobby.”
Between 2018 and 2019, Flora took a gap year but in 2020, she enrolled for a nursing course at a local nursing institution, from which she will graduate in April.
“During my gap year, I started working on my dream of designing and sewing for others.”
She stated the art of designing clothes is more than just creating something for somebody to wear, saying: “Clothes are an expression of creativity and uniqueness, so being a fashion designer comes down to being visionary, recognising how people want to feel, and making your mark in the moment”.
Flora sees herself as an artist who loves to imagine and create clothes. To other young girls who want to join the fashion industry, she said: “Dreams are unlimited. As young ladies, we shouldn’t limit ourselves; opportunities are endless if you are really determined to get to your destination”. Like many other designers and seamstresses, Flora didn’t go to school to learn how to sew because her parents couldn’t afford it, and taught herself using what was available, which was a phone and a sewing machine.
“The internet has made life easier for everyone, especially when it comes to handy work, and making use of YouTube as there are plenty of fashion designers uploading tutorials on how to sew, which is what I was watching daily, and I perfected my skills,” she noted.
- jmuyamba@nepc.com.na