…continued from last week.
Where The Eleven lines comes from, there is a common saying that goes like; “kuzunula nkharamu chikuru uri mukhuni” [If you mention of a lion make sure you are in the tree]. Several of hours after last weeks’ entry released last Wednesday on the street, The Eleven Lines was pleasantly surprised to get an international call all the way from oriental hub of this globe.
It was a close friend of The Eleven Lines who was cited in last weeks’ entry attempting to reason with The Eleven Lines on how unfair he was in the entry as regards to his tailor cut outfit business.
In the lovely oriental English ascent, he mentioned that his colleague has informed him that someone wrote about his business. With the time differences in mind, The Eleven Lines wondered how possible that was and deliberately question how he got hold of the information.
“On the social media. I got a message in my Facebook inbox from my cousin in Mudi. Remember we are 8 hours ahead of your time” He educated The Eleven Lines.
“I see.” The Eleven Lines responded with wanting to drag the issue and to allow his oriental mate to offload his chest. After fifteen minutes of one-way communication he delivered a whole verse and a half of facts, rationale, justification(s), etc.
One thing was clear in his expose – the opportunities for any business person lies in the eyes of the beholder.
“But what is to be continued about last weeks’ entry?” “It is the power of developing and sustaining a brand and how as a country we change the view of some of the international brands in the world fashion industry”.
The Eleven Lines is usually intrigued with clothing lines like diesel and soviet who will go ahead to sell a belt in form of a military rope for some hefty sum of rands in the name of value of a brand.
Surely with all the talent sitting with one Hamisi (a tailor The Eleven Lines uses for his fitting who operates from Zodetsa building at Kamba), should we as a country be importing a china pants or these coast ropes as belts in the name of wanting to stay different? Should we really be busy spending obscene amount of dollars to stand out at the expense of the imported brands?
Up until the last week before this tailor surprised The Eleven Lines with his reconstruction techniques of tailoring, he (The Eleven Lines) has had no clue of the great potential that sits with our Malawian tailors such as Hamisi. He has, by all examination standards passed The Eleven Lines’ test. The tailor proved that he can literally achieved some of the complex stitching demands most of us look for outside this country. Perhaps what is missing is the strategic direction from informed people in the fashion industry.
“But why would people not consider getting stylish outfits (Other than chinkhoswe, shower etc outfits) done locally by these tailors?” The Eleven Lines remembered the days when office wear “Jojeti” and “Gimu” dresses were constructed in the verandas of shops and were spot on. He remembered the days of “nkhwayila” (sandals made from tyres). Its was so fashionable “Where did it go wrong?” Perhaps the tailors ran out of ideas and were over ran by western ideas or the opinion leaders then switched. The Eleven Lines is convinced that it’s the promise of the brand that changed peoples’ view of the tailors. The global brands promised more than the “jojeti”. It promised a lifestyle that was socially acceptable to a wider section which ambitious people wanted to belong to.
It’s the same branding through different channels of communications such as TV and online that inspires the vendors at Limbe markets’ kaunjika stalls to charge excessively on the famous brands. The list is endless.
It is the Eleven Lines assumption that the outfits of the former heads of state, Bingu and JB, were made locally by a tailor who must be sitting pretty.
The Eleven Lines is convinced that it’s a good starting point for Malawians to develop clothes for us by us just like the clothing line, FUBU believes or at least used to believe. Secondly, The Eleven Lines wishes the country stopped laughing at or making fun of other peoples’ fashion initiatives if we are to build brands that are proudly Malawian.
Disgracing a bit, The Eleven Lines was rather disappointed to see how Malawians were busy posting not-so-good messages on social media about our big brother rep(2013)…Yes that one! It bothers The Eleven Lines when locals laugh at someone with heavy northern ascent (in capital letters) or central region ascent (misplaced “Rs” and “Ls” or Eastern region (replacing “S” with “Z”) yet the same locals get so comfortable and in some cases admire when some westerners pronounce English words in German or Italian or even Indian ascents and heavily murdering the queens language in the process.
“Its time we supported local brands. Its time we stood for each other” Eleven Lines 2019
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