The love for fashion flows in the veins of the Schoeman family. Nineteen-year-old Latifah Schoeman from Westbury has been designing and making her own clothes after only practising for about 8 months.
Fashion was her plan B and her first was to become a cosmetologist who makes makeup. She then found out about the Helping Hands Sewing Project in Riverlea and joined the class last year in February.
Schoeman learnt pattern making and how to hand sew then moved onto using the sewing machines. She saved up money and bought herself her very own sewing machine since then she has been making her outfits from home.
In November last year, the Sewing Project hosted their fashion show where the students had to make their own sportswear, smart casual and the showstopper which was traditional wear.
Schoeman stood out from most of the students with her unique fashion sense and designs.
During her interview last year at the fashion show she mentioned that she did not have money to go study fashion at a university so the sewing project helped boost her confidence in the fashion industry.
The last outfit that Schoeman made was her Christmas outfit but said that she will begin creating more outfits soon.
Schoeman found an internship in Cape Town that will allow her to learn more about fashion designing and styling, they are yet to get back to her.
The Fashionista said if they do not get back to her, she will just focus on her business which she registered last year. Her company’s name is Mirie S which is her mother’s names.
WATCH:
Latifah Schoeman (19) from Westbury talks about her love for fashion.
Video by: Janice Beckett
She will be designing, making the clothing and then selling to the public.
She said that her favourite fashion designer is her Aunt Linda Thomas, then her other aunt Louwiza Lauwrens and late grandmother Babra Johnson are her inspiration. When looking at international designers she loves David Tlale’s work.
“I like his style because it’s funky, he experiments with different materials and styles and I really like,” said Schoeman. The perfect outfit for any season is jumpsuits. ‘’I love jumpsuits,” concluded Schoeman.
