Designer teaches senior citizens trending styles
The elderly are fast learners, and there has been a lot of improvement among them since the sewing project started.
A designer known for hosting street fashion events in Mamelodi has shared his tailoring skills with senior citizens.
Abdul Maimane (29) from Mamelodi West is the founder of the Street Cotton fashion show.
Maimane has decided to work with the Peu Entle Senior Citizens Club by sharing his fashion designer skills with the elderly.
Specialising in vintage clothing, he said his passion for fashion design started in his school days and he later worked on community projects by hosting street fashion shows.
Maimane meets with the elderly people every week from Tuesday to Thursday from 10:30 to 11:30 to share his skills with them.
The Peu Entle Sewing Project started around August.
“The elderly are fast learners, and there is a lot of improvement among them,” said Maimane.
“We started with measurements, and now we are in the process of construction, doing patterns and drawings.”
Maimane, together with other fashion designers in Mamelodi, hosts street fashion shows every year during April, where they give young clothing designers and models an opportunity to showcase their work.
Onica Jele, an elderly person and member of the Peu Entle Senior Citizens Club, said this is her first time using a sewing machine.
She said she always loved sewing but used a needle and thread instead.
Jele said attending sewing lessons with Maimane has taught her a lot about fashion design. She learned about measurements, construction, patterns, and drawings.
She added she has found a new talent, and after completing the training, she wants to be a fashion designer.
Dinah Nkuna also learned a lot about fashion design.
She said proper measurement was important when one started making clothing from scratch.
Nkuna said she has a little bit of knowledge of using the machine but learned skills she never knew existed.
She added she can’t wait to start learning how to make a wedding dress.
Agnes Sepeng said the seniors club was started in 2017 because they wanted to keep the elderly people busy, fit, and active, as well as fight boredom among the elderly.
“Peu Entle” means a good seed in SeTswana, and she formed this club to plant a good seed within her community.
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