Following her fashion dream
"I knew if I didn’t take the chance at that moment, I might never get it again and regret it forever."
A SPUR of the moment decision that it is time for a change, steered her life in a new and positive direction.
The RECORD had a chat with Afeefah Mulla Choonara, a young designer with a passion for not only fashion but also for helping women feel confident and beautiful.
Afeefah (26) lives in Sandton with her husband, Ziyad. She has her own studio in Meyersdal under the brand Naked Couture. Her business is still in its infant stage, only being a year old.
She is doing her best to build up her brand and is slowly but surely making progress with the help of four Young Designer’s Emporium (YDE) branches that sell her designs.
She’s also had a few pop-up stores last year to see how shoppers react to her creations.
Time for change
Her journey in fashion designing started when she was a youngster.
“It developed when I was exploring my own creativity in school,” she explains.
“This eventually led to my love for fashion designing.”
Most fashion designers have a passion for fashion, but Afeefah’s passion lies a little deeper. She has a passion to give women a feeling of confidence and beauty when they wear her clothes.
“I used to work in retail and I hated it. I moved on to work as an admin lady at a doctor’s office, but I always knew I wanted to be more,” she said.
“So, one morning I woke up, it was on my birthday, and I just decided it was time for a change.
“I knew if I didn’t take the chance at that moment, I might never get it again and regret it forever.
“That’s when I applied at YDE as one of their fashion designers.”
After a long process, Afeefah’s designs were accepted and were being sold at YDE.
Today, her creations can be bought at YDE’s in Sandton, Menlyn, V&A Waterfront and Pavillion Mall.
She’s now aiming for the stars.
She hopes that her brand will keep growing to eventually reach international acclaim and earn her own store.
Creative flow
Her designs are meant for women who are finding themselves and women exploring their inner goddesses. She gets her inspiration from life.
She explains: “Life is my inspiration because it offers endless and ever-growing possibilities to draw inspiration from.”
Afeefah always has a sketchbook on hand in case a wave of creativity washes over her. Even though she does not work according to strict deadlines, she is always busy creating something new to keep her YDE clothing rails fully stocked.
The style that she prefers is flowy, draped, sensual, elongated, cocktail-style items with her own twist. She prefers neutral, pastel and classic colours.
In contrast, she cannot stand stiff fabrics and fluorescent colours. Afeefah has an in-house seamstress, Nokuthula Mpofu, who realises all her designs.
Feet on the ground
Afeefah says she does not owe her gratitude to anyone specifically, but rather, she is grateful for everything, even unpleasant experiences.
“Every day is a lesson that I learn from, whether it’s good or bad,” she elaborated.
“Appreciation and humility is very important to me and keeps me grounded.
“My biggest achievement so far is how able I’ve become to believe in myself, take risks, exploring my own confidence and getting to know myself. I’m proud of my journey.”
Afeefah will launch her own website soon, called www.afeefahmulla.co.za.
Stay tuned to see her designs here, or pay a visit to one of the four above mentioned YDE branches the next time you need some retail therapy.
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