<p>Born in Tanzania, living in South Africa, and dressing the world, Anissa Mpungwe, is difficult to pin down.</p>
<p>In the end, we manage to do it online.</p>
<p>I look for her on Google Maps, and set out to seek her home address, with nothing but the online search tool. I travel with FORBES WOMAN AFRICA’s layout artist Lucy Nkosi. Luckily for us, just outside her home, which we eventually locate, we bump into one of Mpungwe’s two sisters, a student of architecture, leaving for her classes.</p>
<p>She helps us get in touch with the designer and set up an appointment with her at her Kyalami studio in Midrand, north of Johannesburg.</p>
<p>Around Mpungwe is a melange of color and couture, as she shares her story.</p>
<div id="attachment_35909" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-35909" class="wp-image-35909 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/TLH_2691-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/TLH_2691-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/TLH_2691-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/TLH_2691-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/TLH_2691-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/TLH_2691.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><p id="caption-attachment-35909" class="wp-caption-text">Anissa Mpungwe. Photo by Motlabana Monnakgotla.</p></div>
<p>Mpungwe has been in South Africa since she was 10, attending junior school, high school and university in the Rainbow Nation. Until the age of 19, she was just another foreigner in South Africa.<br />
But her career took off after that.</p>
<p>“After graduating in South Africa, getting my degree in fashion and marketing, I went to do my post- graduation in London. They have a good network there, so you get to work with different spaces and [get enough] work experience for you to know what you want to do; and I didn’t know which part of the fashion industry I wanted to be in. So I had to do all those different [types of] work experiences to know I definitely didn’t want to work for a magazine, [and] definitely not in a factory,” says Mpungwe.</p>
<p>Her career kick-started in South Africa in 2008 after winning the Elle New Talent competition, when she had the opportunity to work with fashion retailer Mr Price (MRP). Thereafter, she showcased her creations at fashion weeks in South Africa; however the biggest jump was in 2010 when she showcased at the prestigious New York Fashion Week in the United States.</p>
<p>“For me, it was an odd jump,” she says.</p>
<p>From being a student overseas, coming back home to South Africa trying to figure out where her career was going, to winning a competition, working with MRP to have her range out and then off to another country representing her home country, Tanzania.</p>
<p>That was in 2010 in New York City that she believes was the year that launched her career and the Loin Cloth &amp; Ashes brand.</p>
<p>Her first store opened in 2012 in Maboneng Precinct, a trendy art hub outside Johannesburg’s Central Business District.</p>
<p>Visitors to her store have included international musicians such as Swedish singer-songwriter Yukimi Nagano from Little Dragon, and American singer-songwriter Amel Larrieux.</p>
<p>She has over the years also had the opportunity to dress American singer-model-actress Solange Knowles for the cover of Elle as well as local South African stars such as Lira, Anele Mdoda, Bridget Masinga, and Simphiwe Dana amongst a slew of other celebrities.</p>
<p>In 2013, Mpungwe won Emerging Designer of the Year Africa awarded by African Fashion International.</p>
<p>She worked with MRP producing ranges reaching countries from Nigeria to Namibia, Botswana and stores across South Africa.</p>
<p>Mpungwe was also chosen to gift one of her designs to former American First Lady Michelle Obama during her visit to South Africa in 2015.</p>
<div id="attachment_35910" style="width: 693px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-35910" class="wp-image-35910 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/TLH_2450-683x1024.jpg" alt="" width="683" height="1024" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/TLH_2450-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/TLH_2450-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/TLH_2450-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/TLH_2450-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/TLH_2450-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/TLH_2450.jpg 1366w" sizes="(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /><p id="caption-attachment-35910" class="wp-caption-text">Mpungwe dresses a model with one of her designs. Photo by Motlabana Monnakgotla.</p></div>
<p>“That for me was a very proud moment because of who she is, how she operates as a female. I [received] a little letter from her to frame to put next to the accolades. As much as those things excite me, to be honest with you, I think it is the everyday people that make me feel good about what I do,” she says.</p>
<p>Over the last few years, she has worked with corporate brands such as Maserati, Converse and Nestle among others.</p>
<p>Mpungwe operates out of two studios in South Africa and one in Tanzania employing 17 people.</p>
<p>“It has been great, a good learning curve. I’ve learned a lot, in such a short period. I’ve learned the business of fashion and the construction of clothing, the product itself,” says J K Khoza, one of her fashion interns.</p>
<p>Mpungwe is now sharing her experiences and showcasing her creations in the hope of seeing more young Africans traverse the globe spreading the beauty and bounties of African fashion.</p>


Anissa_2066

Designs For Africa, And Michelle Obama

<h4> How did your journey into fashion begin?</h4>
<p>My career famously began in 2008 when I debuted my designs for both women and men under the brand name Sheria Na Mavazi in Mysore, India. In 2009, I launched my first professional collection under my own name Sheria Ngowi Designs. The collection was a dedication to my late father who was the driving force behind my love for fashion. I decided to focus on one gender at a time to ensure that I put my all into each of the collections and the women’s collection is on the way.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Where would you be if it wasn’t for fashion?</h4>
<p>Before I came back to the fashion business, I was studying law in India. But I never practised law. I have always loved being involved in the fashion industry but my dad wanted me to study law. You know there is this thing about most of our African parents. My dad wanted me to go into fashion, but after my law studies.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Your inspiration comes from?</h4>
<p>So many sources, but it primarily comes from my late father who was an incredibly stylish man. It often evolves out of seeing a single button, fabric or trimming which triggers an idea for a design. I never spend a lot of time stressing about what sort of theme one of my collections is going to have. The ideas are always there and ready to flow when I start sketching. My favorite and most inspirational period is the early twentieth century. It was such a pivotal time in all the arts from painting to architecture. Illustration, photography and film were all breaking new ground. It was a period when artists and designers were concerning themselves with and influencing all aspects of daily life, from interior decorating to fashion. I love that period.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-31322" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1498_SheriaNgowi-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1498_SheriaNgowi-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1498_SheriaNgowi-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1498_SheriaNgowi-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1498_SheriaNgowi-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1498_SheriaNgowi.jpg 683w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-31324" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1447_SheriaNgowi-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1447_SheriaNgowi-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1447_SheriaNgowi-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1447_SheriaNgowi-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1447_SheriaNgowi-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1447_SheriaNgowi.jpg 683w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-31323" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1464_SheriaNgowi-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1464_SheriaNgowi-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1464_SheriaNgowi-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1464_SheriaNgowi-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1464_SheriaNgowi-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1310_MBFWA_SDR_1464_SheriaNgowi.jpg 683w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></p>
<h4>Your best and worst fashion buy?</h4>
<p>Worst fashion buy would probably be pocket squares with all-white instead of going with some color which is totally unacceptable. Because pocket squares direct everyone’s eyes to your chest, not your stomach. Pocket squares are meant to complement, not match. Best fashion buys would have to be: Saint Laurent straight-leg jeans, everyone knows that a good wardrobe is built on a solid foundation of staple pieces, and one of the most important of those sartorial essentials is denim; Thom Browne round-frame optical glasses; Alexander McQueen bi-color monk strap shoes; men’s fragrance, Tom Ford’s Oud Wood.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>What would your ultimate achievement be?</h4>
<p>Opening a flagship store along Savile Row, right beside the most reputable tailors in the world.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Career highlight?</h4>
<p>As soon as I was officially announced as the official</p>
<p>designer for Tanzania’s men’s football team suits in 2013.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>How long did your 2013 Mercedes benz fashion week africa (MBWFA) collection take to put together?</h4>
<p>It took three months to put together. The first time I saw everything put together I finally said, ‘Oh my God, it works!’ Because it has been a long process, when it is finished you think, ‘Finally, it is done!’</p>


Tag: Designs

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