Local fashion house, Black Trash,is set to showcase their designsat this year’s African FashionWeek in Toronto, Canada this weekend.The design duo, who have previouslyexhibited their work at internationallyrecognized fashion shows suchas the London Fashion Week and MercedesBenz Fashion Week Africa, willbe among 21 designers from aroundthe world that will be showcasing at theevent that will be held in Canada.The Black Trash brand, which isknown for its daring and edgy styleis no stranger to the runway. The Procurementand Production Manager,Gertrude Motopamele shared withTime Out, “We have had the pleasureand privilege of showcasing our workat big fashion shows overseas, and itwas at these shows that we gained internationalrecognition.
That is how wereceived the invitation to participatein the African Fashion Week Toronto.After Toronto, we are gunning for theAfrican Fashion Week New York. InCanada, the show will run from the 15thand we are scheduled to close it downand believe me when I say we’re goingto close it down with a bang, Blacktrashstyle! We really hope Batswana inCanada will show support and attend.”Botswana’s fashion industry is evidentlymaking great changes amongthe get-up-and-go younger membersof the population. From a state of nearnon-existence a few years ago, the industrynow enjoys development andrecognition, with young and trendydesigners leading the changes. Quizzedon what changes the brand has broughtto the local fashion industry, Motopamelesaid, “think about the 1990s and2000s, did you know any local fashiondesigners or brands back then? Inthose days tailors ran the industry, butthe only service you got from themwas stitching and altering the clothesyou already had.
Right now we havemany talented designers countrywide,not just Gaborone. Having been inthe industry for a little over a decade,Black Trash is constantly looking forand re-generating a new fashion signature.The brand does not fi t defi nition;therefore it is always evolving in orderto cater for our different clientele henceadding to the industry.”The infl uence of African culture,that is, fashion, art, music and food canbeen seen in many mainstream brandsall over the world.
“Black Trash will beone of the three designers from SouthernAfrica participating, and we feellike having Botswana as part of theshow seems like a natural step giventhe growing popularity of the Africaninfl uence in international fashion. Soreally, we are going there not just asfashion designers, but as ambassadorsof our country, we are going to representand build the brand Botswana. Weowe it to the department of Arts andCulture for having made this trip possibleby providing sponsorship.” shecontinued.Other African countries to be representedwill be Nigeria, Senegal, Malawi,Zimbabwe and Uganda.