But designer Bonolo Mataboge has never been ordinary – her determination has astonished those around her since she was diagnosed with Blount’s disease many years ago.
Mataboge, founder of the Afriblossom fashion house in Randburg, successfully held her first fashion show in Newtown, Johannesburg, about two weeks ago.
She proudly shared the stage with the models – despite having an external fixator (brace) around her left leg that has been used to lengthen her leg, millimetre by millimetre, over the past few months.
This weekend from 26 until 28 September, Mataboge will be one of about 160 exhibitors at the Soweto Festival Expo at the Joburg Expo Centre, Nasrec.
The expo focuses on supporting and promoting entrepreneurs, and contributing to the long-term development of the economy and community.
Mataboge’s clothing range starts at size 34 (and goes up to size 46) and she refers to herself as a “plus-size designer”.
As a 16-year-old, she went to the United States of America as an exchange student and for the first time didn’t struggle to find fashionable clothes.
That’s when she realised there’s a big gap in the South African market for stylish clothes for the fuller figure.
She describes her clothes as African-inspired (in a subtle way), fun, colourful and flattering, suitable for young and old.
“My clothes are multi-generational; the whole family can wear them. And when you put on my clothes, you’ll feel as if you can conquer the world,” she said.
Blount’s disease affects the bones in one’s lower limbs, causing one or both legs to bow outwards just below the knee.
Mataboge, who has lived in Randburg for most of her life, had her first operation as a seven-year-old and the last one – external fixation surgery to lengthen her left leg by 4.7cm – in December last year.
But Mataboge has never let the disease stand in her way. “It has never been a big deal for me. I’m used to it,” she added.
A part of Afriblossom’s profit goes to the Walk-a-Mile Centre for Advanced Orthopaedics in Pretoria, to assist Blount’s disease patients who cannot afford the necessary medical treatment.
Visit the Afriblossom Facebook page at www.facebook.com/afrblossom?ref=br_tf.
The Soweto Festival Expo takes place from Friday 26 September to Sunday 28 September, at the Joburg Expo Centre at Nasrec.
Tickets are on sale at Jozi FM’s offices, and will be sold at the gate.
