Turning passion for fashion into a business
From the age of 10, Aaron Mushimba already knew he would have a clothing line because of his artistic gift of drawing clothes, and today has turned that passion for fashion into a business.
The 18-year-old co-founded SAUCEYAESTHETICS with the support of his long-time friend of the same age, Ruveldo Soares, in September last year.
“Fashion was the only thing I could use to express myself, even though I would be judged for it. But it made me comfortable in my own skin since I was being my authentic self,” shared Mushimba.
He said economically, it isn’t a great time to start a business, but they are driven by their passion, mindset and them being young entrepreneurs, believing they can do it.
The duo produce t-shirts with the brand name as well as two Mr. Lincoln roses. “These roses symbolise courage and passion, while the pastel shades of peach roses are often given as a sign of appreciation and gratitude, thus correlating with our goal in SAUCEYAESTHETICS. We
are releasing our hoodies and t-shirts this coming week,” said Mushimba.
Asked about the brand name, he said SAUCEYAESTHETICS came across his mind when he started
specialising in grunge aesthetics.
“Grunge is a darker, edgier style that is usually depicted these days with glitches, vinyl records, neon lights and the colour black. Grunge
was most popular from roughly 1991 to 1997. I soon got tired of grunge, and wanted to start developing my own aesthetic with a mix of grunge. Since I am known as ‘Saucey’ and that I am all about aesthetics in my fashion sense, I just put the words together - SAUCEYAESTHETICS.
Soares added that their products stand out from the rest because of the diversity and youthfulness of the team.
“Our ideas are fresh, our skills are improving at a fast rate, and we are eager to raise money so that we can start somewhere with improving conditions for our people. By working decently and helping our economy grow, which is the 8th Sustainable Development Goal, we will try and sell as much clothing as we possibly can,” he explained.
Soares stated that the goal of the brand is to try and improve the living conditions of the less-privileged, which will be hard, but they are still going to try their best.
“We created a donation campaign, whereby the proceeds are funded directly to buy clothing and food for the less-privileged across Namibia. We aspire to promote the Namibian fashion industry, improve living conditions in our community and put Namibia on the map within the world,” added Soares.