Harnessing pencil power to produce wearable art
Zwelitsha-based clothing and textile designer has innumerable talents
Growing up, Zwelitsha-based clothing and textile designer Nobuzwe Mabona harnessed the power of a pencil to articulate her thoughts.
A born artist, Mabona said by the age of nine she was able to produce beautiful drawings of people's faces, memories and images depicting the world around her.
Recognising the talent in their daughter, her parents enrolled her in art classes which took up the better part of her school holidays when she was home from her Cape Town boarding school.
According to the designer, it was then only natural for her to study towards a Fine Arts diploma post-matric.
But despite her love of art, Mabona said a radio job caught her attention, leading to a 10year stint doing voice-overs.
It was a comment by her mother back in 2010 which re-ignited the passion.
“My mom asked me why I was so lazy to paint. I told her that it just takes too much time and even when I sell the painting, I won't make much money. I was just so focused on making money and paying the bills,” she said. “But looking at my daughter, I realised that I wanted to leave behind a legacy for her, which prompted me to go back into art.”
Mabona said she started by sketching township life and the various images surrounding her.
Then she had the idea of printing the images on T-shirts. From there, came the bold idea of putting the images on to large pieces of fabric. After travelling to China and Ghana to investigate and learn all about textile design, the designer said she knocked on many doors looking for funding.
She eventually dug her hands deep into her own pockets to make her dream a reality.
It paid off and a donor eventually came on board last year.
She immediately secured a team of 15 seamstresses from surrounding areas such as Tamara and Dimbaza and bought machines to start large-scale textile production from her shop in Zwelitsha.
From huts, afro combs, piano keys to struggle icons such as Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela and Albertina Sisulu – Mabona said she was on a mission to highlight the beauty of all things African.
A love of African fashion saw her making clothes as well. Through her collection of unique designer skirts, dresses, shirts, pants, handbags and headdresses under the name AfroChild, she said she hoped to revolutionise traditional wear.
“Traditional wear is seen as a celebratory item to only be worn on special occasions and with my brand I'm trying to change that. I want my clothes to be everyday items, things one can wear to work or even to go shopping.
“These items highlight the beauty of African life, not just locally but for my international clients too. I use a lot of bright colours and light fabric for most items, unlike umbaco (Xhosa traditional wear) which is heavy and more suited for special occasions.
“The highlight for me is having the power to influence fashion which any designer will tell you is huge,” she said, adding that she makes to order but dislikes mass production of the same item.
Mabona trades from her shop based in Zwelitsha, but has several pop-up shops in and around King William's Town and East London regularly.