Interview with fashion designer Mweene Kalipinde

Mweene Kalipinde is a 30 something year old Fashion designer, wife and mother of two handsome boys. Her love for design started at a very early age. “Growing up I had always been small hence I couldn’t fit in clothes made for my age they were always big, so i would alter them so they fit which always landed me in trouble with my mum but I always loved the results I got.”

Following advice from her mother, Mweene enrolled in a short tailoring course at Regent college, after completing her secondary school. She enjoyed it so much that she ended up doing a 2-year course. “In 2006 I joined Bulos as an intern, I worked with Betty chilonde (Fashion designer, creative designer at Bulos Pieces) for 2 years and later on in 2009 I started working on my own and Mweene fashion house was established, I only took it seriously as a career in 2010.”

KAPA KAUMBA: Who are your favorite designers both locally and internationally?

 Mweene Kalipinde: Locally my favourite designers are my mentor Betty chilonde (Bulos) and charity nyirongo (Mo creation), they are both always ready to give advice to upcoming designers. Betty has a passion to empower youths and trains those with interest and she has an incubator for fashion and designing, Charity also teaches designing to individuals who have interest but I also love her pieces they are always so original. Both designers have travelled around the continent and have done Zambia proud putting its fashion on the map. Internationally, I am inspired by the queen of punk designs, Vivienne Westwood, she was one of the first designers to showcase more than 2 collections in a year and still does. She has changed how people look at fashion, creating many trends, she plays around with so many colours and fabrics to make a collection and yet people from different backgrounds still find a sense of style in her creations. Above all she’s been designing for more than 35 years.

KAPA KAUMBA: Your collection at this year’s Zambia Fashion week got a great response from the audience. What was the theme of the collection?

Mweene Kalipinde: My collection is called “Desert Rose” it was inspired by the biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colours. It’s a collection that tells a story of greatness, it doesn’t matter where you are just like Joseph who was sold to be a slave, and he ended up being a minister in a foreign land.

KAPA KAUMBA: Interesting theme, I loved the collection. How has the fashion week evolved over the years? What in your opinion can be done to make the event even bigger?

Mweene Kalipinde: The number of designers coming on board grows every year, it shows that the Zambian youths are not waiting to be employed but they are creating jobs. It would be very nice to see buyers from big clothing distribution companies coming to watch and buying pieces from us on a large scale. It would also help if there were a lot of companies coming as sponsors. All in all Zambia fashion week is organised by individuals who want to see the fashion industry grow and they are doing a good job, but it would be really nice to see government coming on board and help the industry have it’s own face, like we need a textile company. This will be of great help to the designers.

KAPA KAUMBA: Do you use any computer software to make your designs or do you free hand sketch?

Mweene Kalipinde: All my designs are free hand sketch,I would want to use the computer software but most of the Zambian designers if not all of us have no access to it.

KAPA KAUMBA: Talk us through the process of creating one of your designs. How long does it normally take to create an outfit?

Mweene Kalipinde: I sketch my design first then I go buy what is needed. I draft the patten either on paper or directly on the fabric,I cut linings,add stiffener to it and the sewing begins, I iron every stitch and cut out extra cottons. Some outfits take me just a few hours while others like a wedding gown can take me weeks.

KAPA KAUMBA: To the novice it may seem that all Zambian designers work mainly with chitenge material, is this true reflection?

Mweene Kalipinde: Its true but it doesn’t mean we can’t work with other fabrics, it just happens chitenge is easy to sell because it’s trending.

KAPA KAUMBA: Fashion is always changing; nothing stays in for too long. How do you keep your pieces original and fresh?

Mweene Kalipinde: Mweene fashion house is simplicity, my pieces are kept simple and clean this gives my clients a choice to wear it up or down, hence they are fresh season after season.

 KAPA KAUMBA: What do you think is the biggest misconception about working in the fashion industry?

Mweene Kalipinde: Many people think being in the fashion industry is easy and glamorous. Mmmmm, it’s a lot of work, we have a lot of sleepless nights, almost no weekends/holidays, we have deadlines everyday, and we are constantly thinking of new ideas. It’s no place for a lazy person.

KAPA KAUMBA: What is the biggest lesson that you have learned since you started designing.

Mweene Kalipinde: I have learnt to listen and to be patient, if you don’t listen you find yourself having a lot of misunderstandings with your clients and you need to be patient to make every garment, especially if you want good quality clothes.

KAPA KAUMBA: Apart from fashion designing, what else are you involved in?

Mweene Kalipinde: My husband and I have been doing some building projects our latest being building my fashion studio which I’m due to move into in a few weeks

KAPA KAUMBA: What do you hope to see from the Zambian fashion industry in the next 10 years? Can the industry be a major contributor to the countries GDP?

Mweene Kalipinde: 10 years from now I believe the Zambian fashion industry will have plenty of big fashion houses. I want to see our brands in all the big clothing stores if anything I believe if we work together as designers we can have stores throughout the world selling Zambian branded cloths. If what I saw at the just ended Zambian Fashion Week was just the beginning I can’t wait to see what we can do 10 years from now, cause all the designers brought their A-game. 

KAPA KAUMBA: Any last words,

Mweene Kalipinde: Never let anyone define what you are keepable of doing, always dream big even if it scares you. 10years ago I was just a little girl with just a dream and now I’m almost living my dream. Thank you!

Here are some of Mweene’s designs from her “Desert Rose” collection

 

BY KAPA KAUMBA