Photo: Supplied and Hein Kaiser
For Kabambi Mbiola, fashion is all about a feeling, about a moment of expression and capturing it on his media of choice.
It extends beyond fashion, he said.
Mbiola’s dream is to create a showroom apartment kitted out with original designs across every aspect of its interior.
From the wardrobe to the kitchen through to the couches in the lounge.
After all, his brand, Fuata Moyo, is a Swahili phrase that means “follow the heart”.
He did just that.
After working as a designer for a major clothing brand before the pandemic, Mbiola was retrenched.
“Management approached us and shared that they were unable to afford us and were struggling to keep the business going.”
It was right after losing his job, in the middle of lockdown, that he decided to start up his own thing and become the captain of his destiny.
He remembers: “My family tried to discourage me and thought that I was being a bit crazy. But hard work and a relentless pursuit of success showed me that anything can be possible.”
Mbiola came to South Africa 25 years ago when his family fled the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
They settled in Cape Town, and he has called SA home since then.
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He recently stepped away from the Mother City for his first commercial venture into Joburg, an outlet at Rosebank’s We Are Egg department store.
He calls it the first leap into taking Fuata Moyo to new heights and, along with it, the rest of the family business, House of Moyo, which manufactures clothing and even upholstery from a Cape Town factory.
Mbiola said: “I am quite reliant on the family business. When I started the clothing brand, I wanted everything manufactured locally, and it was not easy seeking out suppliers and partners who are prepared to work in small quantities.
“I was lucky that I had family who have been involved in the trade for some time, and it has become one of the foundations of my business.”
He is in partnership with his brother and sister in the Fuata Moyo brand.
One of his goals is to use his family connection to help other new market entrants who may not be able to afford large runs of designs.
“I would love to be in a position to help an entrepreneur or a designer who may only be able to afford a run of 20 or so garments, and to help make their dreams come true.”
Unity, passion and family is very important to Mbiola. It’s part of his DNA and, he said, what his brand stands for.
“Our brand combines two worlds, where we make fashion, but we treat, and we make garments with art pieces on it. We paint on them just to give them that unique, personalised feel.
“When you buy our clothing, it’s like you’re buying pieces of one-off art. Traditionalists always say that art meant to be hung on a wall. I basically say, and you can wear your art.”
Right now, his designs comprise original works of art painted onto almost anything.
There are denims, shorts, shirts and jackets.
All feature a unique design dreamt up by Mbiola. He even resuscitates tired old leather jackets into a second life, reincarnated as wearable art.
“I draw my inspiration from life. It’s about the kind of future that I want to see, the kind of future that I want to create and the kind of connection that I would like to have with people.”
Next month sees Fuata Moyo collaborate with premium fashion brand Fabiani.
Mbiola has created a set of designs for the brand which he calls Revolution, which comprises four pieces of art and it makes a statement about love.
“The message within this collection is simple. You cannot have a revolution without love, there’s even an anagram for it inside the word, albeit backwards. But it’s there, and that is my message.”
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