Talented KaBokweni designer brings the world of high fashion home
A local fashion designer hailing from KaBokweni has conquered obstacles in his way, bounced back stronger and is now ready once again to make magnificent garments.
Ngomane was born and raised in KaBokweni, where his love for fashion began. “I chose fashion design because I love art and creating new things, and simply because I want to change the world through fashion,”said Ngomane. “My parents never wanted me to do fashion design, so I had to go to university and do financial management for three years.
“After I completed finance, I went to fashion school. I dropped out in my second year because I did not have the finances to complete the course,” said Ngomane.
This did not stop or break him. Instead he decided to push harder to achieve his dreams. “I was so passionate about fashion that I pushed myself to design clothes and showcase myself to the world. I started my own fashion brand called Giga-Garu and a school called Giga-Garu Fashion School.”
His efforts were not in vain as he was nominated as one of the five upcoming designers in South Africa. “I got the opportunity to work with with Grammy-nominated musician Sjava, celebrated actors Abdul Khoza and Sthembiso Khoza, and the late musician Mandoza,” explained Ngomane. “Abdul Khoza is one of the most humble people I have ever met. He taught me a lot about being humble.”
Ngomane went through a rough patch in 2015, which led him to stop designing.”I went through depression, which was a very hard time for me. I isolated myself from society and everything that I loved and only a few people noticed it.”
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It took some time for Ngomane to recover and get his head back in the game. “It took me two years to bounce back from depression, I came back stronger, wiser and with more connections for 2019.”
Indeed he came back stronger than ever before. Ngomane hosted a fashion show at the Giga-Garu headquarters, where he invited designers from over 15 countries. “A lot of people did not believe that we could pull it off, but we had over 70 guests from other countries. Mzansi Magic was on hand to document the magic that was taking place.”
Ngomane made sure that he used local models, in order to give them exposure. “The local models got the opportunity to meet designers from Zanzibar, the US, Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Seychelles, Ghana and many other countries.”
