Grace Makopa Lestsoalo, a 23-year-old fashion designer living and studying in the heart of Johannesburg, Braamfontein, is no stranger to the fashion and trendy scene of the inner-city.
Known in many parts for her artistic creative fashion, and pushing the boundaries and wearing her own brand of clothing, all by remaining true to her ethic self, has helped shape who she has become today.
As we walked the streets of Braamfontein, Letsoalo is greeted and loved by many. She is currently studying a degree in education at Wits University but Letsoalo wasn’t always this self-assured. Speaking in her student accommodation apartment in Braam, she takes me back to her humble beginnings in a small village in Limpopo.
“My mother used to make clothes when she was young, not sure what her main purpose was, I think it was to sell them,” she recalled.
“I remember seeing people coming in and out of the house.” The family of three, Letsoalo being the only child, moved to Alexandra during her primary school years after her father had found a job in Johannesburg. That is when she discovered that she was different. Feeling like she didn’t necessarily fit in, her creative side was coming out, and her family thought she was rebelling. “I would part my ponytail in a certain way, I would sometimes put on my mother’s makeup and go to school with it on and people would ask me why I am doing that?”
Letsoalo added that she was misunderstood at home too and her parents wanted her to look a certain way. “I remember, I used to hide my colours, any creative thing, I would hide it under my bed so my parents didn’t see it. Imagine living in a caged box, but at school I was this free person, but at home you are caged. My friends would ask, what is happening at home? You would think a child so free around her friends would be as free at home.”
In her teenager years, she ran away from home twice. “I just wanted to run and not be at home.” Letsoalo said her aunt was the only who could see she needed help. “The time I matriculated, in 2013, I did very well. When I found out my results I knew that this is my chance to run away. I was accepted into Wits. I packed my bags and left.”
Part of her studies included film and arts as she tapped into fashion and she knew that this was her calling. When it came time to learn more about fabrics and drawings, she learnt everything from one of her mentors who she calls Miss Nadine. This ignited her passion for fashion, as she started reading a lot of fashion magazines, learning to make kimonos and pants, and started wearing her own clothes.
Her work is heavily inspired by Asian culture and is drawn by how in tune they are with their culture and do not follow fashion norms. Her biggest Asian designer influence is Yohji Yamamoto because of how free his designs are, having no boundaries, and you can see it in her designs. From natural tone kimonos, to colorful sleeve T-shirts, jackets and pants, Letsolao knows her ascetics very well.
By 2019, Letsoalo had created her own fashion brand because of the positive reaction she had received from people when wearing her own clothing. ” I got rid of my jeans, my shirts, and anything that looked normal to me I donated. That’s when I started being out of the box.”
Starting the fashion brand as Blackense, she has decided to reach a broader use of colour tones, fabric and details and capturing stories of black people through her own signature through the name Makopa, her second name, which means ‘able’ in Swahili.
Going forward this year she wants to show her designs at exhibitions. “I want my clothes in museums, part of curation in fine art galleries [which is a] form of an art exhibition through clothes. I want to share my world but I want to share it in a different way. It is such an important thing to me on how I share my clothes to the world.”
The talented designer next goal is to have a pop-up store at Victoria Yards, and at this rate there is no stopping her from achieving this.
