- Young entrepreneur recycles old jeans into fashionable wear
- Makes bags, shoes and jackets
- Business budding and promising
- Appeals for gov’t and private sector support
Gazette Reporter
In an effort to curb unemployment amongst youth in the country, a young local entrepreneur has established a denim recycling small enterprise that reprocesses old jeans into clothing merchandise, dubbed “Evol Wear’’.
In an interview with Time Out, the 23-year-old owner of Evol Wear, David Mokotedi, said the concept which is motivated by aspiration to be creative was established to create employment for young people and persuade them to be self reliant.
Moketedi says his inspiration and love for fashion was inspired by his mother, a fashion designer herself, “My mother, who is very supportive, taught me through her tutorials how to design and she understood the vision of making my craft effortless and interesting.”
This inspiration, he explained, taught him to express himself through the clothes he designs. “I like fashion because it has no rules, so I am able to articulate myself consistently without any restrictions.”
Recycling was also a product of his love for denim as a fabric and he says it drove him to rescue and turn old jeans into new clothing merchandise.
To fund his venture, Mokotedi says he used his savings to set up and buy machinery needed to cut old jeans and for other operations. He expressed gratitude to members of the public who give out old jeans at no cost because more often than not, people do not want to give away jeans for free- and often have to buy them.
Mokotedi has employed 10 young creatives who comprise of models, fashion designers, and photographers. The result of this is a budding business whose merchandise is bought in large quantities thanks to a market that has opened its arms widely.
Evol Wear’s key market is young people who Mokotedi says understand fashion culture much better are able to appreciate the creativity that goes of his products which he says “stands out”.
Regarding the challenges he faces, Mokotedi pointed out that some designers plagiarize his works, resulting in failure and distortion of true meaning of his concept. “Some customers purchase our merchandise and never settle their balance, this is discouraging and impacts negatively on our enterprise,’’ he said.
Mokotedi says he wants Evol Wear to be the most influential clothing company in Botswana and wants to showcase their work in an international fashion platform such as Paris fashion week. For this to be possible, he pointed out that government and the private sector should provide empowerment platforms for the creative industry as it can be a source of employment and self development.
Mokotedi urged aspiring young entrepreneurs to work hard to achieve their desired goals. “Be creative in your own way, identify what you are artistic about and work on what you fervent about and pursue it,” said the young Mochudi born designer who also makes bags, jackets and shoes from denim fabric.