Thato Matabane’s passion for redesigning jeans when growing up has now turned him into a successful sought-after denim brand. His label Afrikanswiss survived the global pandemic Covid-19 to emerge with two mass production warehouses in Johannesburg central and being part of the stockists at Africa Rise, which sells the best of African fashion and accessories.

“I used to cut my old jeans while growing up in Protea North, Soweto. I’d then make jackets (hand stitch) and use my mother’s bleach to treat them. People in my hood loved them and I’d sell them for R150 each. It was also after I attended a Craig Native show at SA Fashion Week that I pursued my fashion label. Loxion Kulca had also planted a seed within me to go after my passion for working with the denim fabric,” he says.

Though denim is one of those items that never go out of fashion, Thato says he has learnt to be creative with his designs to stay appealing to the market.

“All the designs and collections I come up with, are inspired by everything Afrikan from culture, heritage, lifestyle and wealth. So we’ll never run out ideas that make us stand out. We also, always want to set trends.”

He has garnered consistent support from his buyers and some famous people like Unathi Nkayi, Somizi Mhlongo, Brown Mbombo and Nick Soul among others. Though Covid-19 was brutal to SMME’s he says that he used the two year period to restrategise and find the hidden blessings within the pandemic’s storm.

“It was hard at first, but we rode the storm and recovered well. It forced us to think out of the box as well. Now we are selling more online and branching out more in that direction and growing our online presence, as well as a new website coming out this month.

As a growing business he cites lack of financial assistance and capacity as some of the major challenges that he faces.

“We also face challenges when it comes to building a team of public relations, marketing, sales, legal and admin that will take our business and brand to greater heights as this requires a lot of money. So for a while I tried juggling all these by myself and it doesn’t work. It’s only now that we are building a team and finding cost effective ways of doing it. Experience has been our greatest teacher.”

On retailing at Africa Rise stores, he says that this will help with reaching more clientele, as the demand for the brand is growing rapidly. He also shares excitedly that Afrikanswiss now has an official ambassador as part of it’s brand awareness strategy.

“Our new ambassador is Kopano Ntepe Mafubelu, my little sister. She’s a budding influencer and very smart. She also knows the brand in and out. So we try our best to keep it within the family as we are building an empire and a lasting legacy.”