Ambitious SER CONSOLADO
Owner and Director of SER CONSOLADO brand, Gomotsegang Dipuo, says her work is not a coincidence but passion based.
To her, “fashion is a means of self expression that allows people to try different things in life, be it through clothing, accessories, footwear, and even beauty,” She further emphasizes that it is an ever evolving and versatile experience that has grown into a multi million dollar industry. Her unique work is spotted from afar and she is confident to say she was born a professional designer. She tells BG Style that, what has turned out to be a favorite design house in Maun, started as a fun hobby of playing with dolls and making tiny clothes. “When I became a teenager and started learning about different types of career paths, I discovered that fashion design is something that I can venture into and make a living out of in future, and this was when I now developed a burning desire to learn more and read about designers such as David Tlale,” she says noting that this inspired her a lot, and became the biggest dream and a master plan she never looked back on.
She actually started learning basic sewing at Junior school, through Home Economics classes, and later on enrolled with Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Botswana, where she says her career took shape. She also studied Fashion and Fabrics at senior school, which made her life much easier at Limkokwing University where she completed her Associate Degree in Fashion and Apparel Design in 2018. “I also decided to work for a few seasoned local designers to gain experience with the end goal of opening my own design studio one day and growing my own brand, while still at university in order to polish my skills and perfect my craft. I would voluntarily work as an assistant at fashion shows, which gave me the opportunity to learn more and be inspired that I later on started to showcase at shows too and gained exposure as a young designer,” narrates Dipuo. She remains the designer of note in her home town, Maun as many are pleased with her work for many different ocassions, including, bridal wear, maternity wear, corporate wear, casual wear and many other themed ocassions. She tells BG Style that, what sets her apart from other fashion designers is the fact that she designs with a purpose.
“When I design, I mostly like to choose fabrics that have a fun, colorful and modern feel unlike the usual German or african prints,” she says. She is of the view that, every piece must look like it was bought at a boutique or exclusive store in terms of color, fabric, texture, quality and finish. “I am working very hard to grow my brand into a household name and explore other parts of the fashion industry such as shoes, accessories and cosmetics,” she adds. Interestingly, the name SER CONSOLADO is Portuguese, meaning ‘ be consoled’ which is a direct translation of her name ‘ Gomotsegang’ and she says, she just wanted her brand name to be unique yet sentimental and catchy. She tells BG Style that her now biggest dream is to grow her brand into a house hold name, and explore other parts of the fashion industry in the next five years.
“All I want, is to be a globally recognized African designer taking my work to international runways while making a positive impact in my community,” she says. She believes that the local fashion industry is full of talent and creativity and progressively growing into an industry that can export world class designers, models and brands to the rest of the world.
Her biggest achievement by far is laying a good foundation for her business and finally opening her own design studio earlier this year in Maun, after years of sewing from her room. Just recently, she also got Position three at the National Arts Festival 2022 in the fashion Design Category. She has showcased at different shows such as Mascom Derby fashion show 2022, Miss Botswana top 30 fashion Show 2021, President’s day Arts Competitions 2018, Masa Square Hotel fashion show 2017, Mascom Derby Fashion show 2017, Fashion without Borders 2017 and Eco- Couture fashion show 2016. As a business based in Maun , she says her biggest challenge is accessing fabrics and materials, because of very few suppliers. She therefore has to source fabrics from as far as Gaborone and says she wishes to turn this into a business opportunity. Dipuo reiterates that her passion is what has always fuelled her to strive to do better and improve with every piece that she creates.
“After finishing a garment or collections, I get excited to do even more and better, and this motivates me to try the next design or garment,” she shares. Her brand slogan is ‘ Own your attention’ and she says through this slogan, she aims at encouraging better imagery in clothing. “Image is everything and so I would like to help my clients not only dress well but fall in love with their bodies and make a statement through clothing that will represent them as men and women of class and elegance.” says Dipuo.