Fashion design students light LUCT event

’MAKERESEMESE LETUKA

MASERU – Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (LUCT) fashion design students held a colour splash fashion show at ’Manthabiseng Convention Centre on Saturday, which was part of their academic project to showcase their achievements. The annual event is held by third and fourth year fashion students as part of their final project. The whole idea behind establishing the fashion show is to expose students to the fashion industry while also providing designers with a global platform to showcase their designs to markets while also offering them an opportunity to work with experienced retailers.

Present at the event were Gogo, a famous tik tok artiste, musicians like Jannie Kay, TFG and Churchill. Designs showcased were swimwear, lingerie, red-carpet attire, street wear, smart casual, office wear and cowboy office wear. Local models from TGee, Sotho Kids and Bajinity showcased each student’s line of designs on the ramp, with a catwalk and background music. On behalf of the organisers of the event, Mpho Mohapi, said the show was a success and the audience came in large numbers. She said all students were able to showcase their designs and they managed to get models for their designs as well as sponsors.

One of the students Hlonolofatso Mapesela, who received a certificate as the best designer, said it was an exciting moment to see that her hard work got recognised and had paid off. “I am thinking of starting a business so that I can raise money to pay off the NMDS loan in order to continue with my studies and get an Honours Degree and start designing for clients and showcase in Lesotho fashion shows,” she said. “The fashion show was amazing. The designs were mind-blowing, the showcasing students really outdid themselves and their designs would elevate the current state of the fashion industry in Lesotho.

“There are so many designs that I could legitimately buy to wear on the red carpet of an event,” said the Red Carpet presenter who is also a top Model in Lesotho, Tšepang Teba. He went on to say the inspiration and concept of the collections were so fresh and not something that you can see on a daily basis. He liked the fact that some designers had collections that were “avant-garde” which is really entertaining and theatrical. The future of Lesotho’s fashion is in good hands, he concluded. This was the first fashion show after the pandemic, the last one was held in 2019. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the school had to stop holding fashion shows.