Mark Swag makes international waves
MBABANE – The sky is not the limit, but only the tip of the iceberg for Zambian born fashion designer and entrepreneur Shiggy Mbewe (31) of Mark Swag, who has become a household name in the kingdom.
Mark Swag is a clothing brand based in the kingdom founded by Mbewe brothers Shiggy and Chanx, who partnered with graphic designer Zuma Nkambule in 2011.
Brought up by a family of designers, Shiggy and his brother Chitambi ‘Chenx’ Mbewe (currently based in Toronto Canada) fell in love with fashion.
They would buy T-shirts from local stores and at times wouldn’t like the way they fitted, so they would make alterations.
They came up with the resolution to start their own clothing line and make their own T-shirts, from there on they ventured into sweaters and much more.
In 2016, Mark Swag was named second out of three best local brands in Eswatini. Things shifted for them in a major way when Shiggy moved to South Africa to study.
He sold the merchandise on campus and raised awareness of the brand, which resulted in the brand getting a lot of recognition.
They have dressed artists from South Africa such as DJ Oskido, Zahara, Boom Base, YFM DJ Warras, Evan Creamer (Shizniz eTV) and locally Lyrikal Busta, the Swazi Boy team, Sands and many more to say the least.
Show
They have also done a fashion show in Zambia which helped to boost their brand, and they have also partnered up with the annual LUJU Festival in 2019.
Mark Swag has a diverse range of designs inclusive of raincoats for the rainy season (where they collaborated with a logistics company called Earth Quakes), gym vests, caps, T-shirts (where they collaborated with The House Music Fest), different coloured track pants inspired by Kim Kardashian.
Shiggy is currently working with MTN BUSHFIRE to present a festival themed range in collaboration with Dalas spaces (a shop based at Malandelas which sells a wide range of locally produced brands/products such as crafts and accessories).
In addition, he’s also working on their winter range.