Originally from Limpopo, Sipho Vuyo Lushaba grew up in Soweto. His background and experiences in both places would serve as inspiration for SVL Designs.
The fashion brand was established in 2016 when he was a third-year student at Lindiwe Kuzwayo Academy of Fashion Design in Durban. Since its inception, the accomplishments of the brand include designing for the South African Commonwealth team and for the opening ceremony of last year’s Olympics.
At the heart of the brand is to represent the under represented by telling the stories of the everyday South African and that is how it separates itself from the pack.
Bubblegum Club sits down with Sipho Vuyo Lushaba of SVL Designs after his debut at Lagos Fashion Week to talk about the brand.
Photograph by Gift Dick Banda
Lee Nxumalo: What’s your earliest memory you have in fashion?
Sipho Lushaba: The first memory I have would be selling T-shirts, that is how I got into fashion. After selling t-shirts, I wanted to further my knowledge of fashion so I decided to go to fashion college to learn how to create something unique and special.
That time [22] I was just trying to make extra cash.
Lee Nxumalo: How did you develop the aesthetic of SVL Designs?
Sipho Lushaba: SVL is just about telling stories – the everyday stories that I encounter. It’s inspired by things by people I meet, things that I hear and read, and things that I have experienced.
Lee Nxumalo: SVL Designs just featured in Lagos Fashion Week this year for the first time. How did that come about? And how did you prepare for it?
Sipho Lushaba: I saw an opportunity where they were inviting designers to apply so I applied for that. They asked about the label, how it works, and how I see the future of the label. When it came to preparing for Lagos Fashion Week, I knew what story I wanted to tell. I built on the collection I already had and developed it.
Lee Nxumalo: What was your process for creating this collection?
Sipho Lushaba: It started with researching. I wanted to incorporate the things I had learned with the story I wanted to tell and use sustainable methods to develop the collection.
Lee Nxumalo: When you say story, what story are you trying to tell?
Sipho Lushaba: It was inspired by the song ‘Umsebenzi Wendoda’ by The Muffinz. It is an ode to single mothers – single mothers trying to provide [for] and raise their kids. In our everyday lives, we see omama going out in the streets to sell so that they can provide for their families. You can see mothers going the extra mile for their kids. I used the references that I see every day and incorporated them into the garments.
Lee Nxumalo: What did you take away from your experience at Lagos Fashion Week?
Sipho Lushaba: I gained a lot of knowledge in a short amount of time. We went from the [mentor] programme to the workshops and I learned a lot [from them].
Lee Nxumalo: And where do you hope to see your label within the next five to 10 years?
Sipho Lushaba: I would love to have more shows like Lagos Fashion Week and to grow from where we are now. I’m also trying to find solutions to the problems that [the] fashion industry creates and try [to] incorporate them into the collections.
Photograph by Gift Dick Banda
Photograph by Gift Dick Banda
