Award-winning fashion designer Immanuel Garoeb from House of Tsatago (HOT) first made an impression when he won the African Fashion Renaissance fashion show in 2013 in Windhoek and a young designer award in 2014 in Zimbabwe. He recently launched his new collection titled ‘Green with Envy’.
The collection is aimed at encouraging people to love themselves regardless of what others might think and to wear what they want to.
The collection consists of colours such as emerald green, gold, white and beige, while velvet and lace were used. Describing his newest collection, Garoeb said: “The collection was a bit of change from my usual colour palette and pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and reach a wider demographic.” The benefit of the colours, he said, is that they work for both winter and summer.
Garoeb said the collection took him a few months to complete, adding that he needed to travel outside the country to do so. “Working on the collection was not easy for me. I kept changing it. I would often add new garments and then remove others. This is how the process always goes with me when I have something new. Not all of the garments that I create end up on the runway. I would lay them out and or do a fitting on the models and something just looks different. It is quite time-consuming and I basically stopped sleeping to get it done. When inspiration kicks in, I barely even eat as it distracts me from my set goal,” he said.
“I do have a lot of fun whenever I have to work on a new collection,” Garoeb added.
The collection follows the current trend, Garoeb said, where some of the garments are gender fluid and interchangeable. He said when he started, he only designed women’s clothing, but this time around, he ventured out of his comfort zone and into menswear.
The Khorixas-born designer said he prefers to work in the fashion industry because it gives him the platform to meet new people and travel outside the country. “I love fashion. I love being able to meet new people and dress them in my own creations. The industry has allowed me to travel not only locally in Namibia but also internationally. I however must admit that my garments travel more than me. I am blessed because I get to do what I love on a daily basis.”
The “cherry on the cake”, he added, is the support from his “wonderful family and friends”.
“It gives me that kick I need. In this industry, thick skin is a must and as a shy, slightly introverted boy from the small town of Khorixas, it took me a while to get my footing. To find my own voice and my aesthetic as a designer took me some time, but we all get there sometime,” he said.
Starting out in the fashion industry in Namibia is not easy, Garoeb said, but he advises upcoming designers to just go for it. “It’s tough in the beginning, but everything worth doing never comes easy, and if it does, you should be worried. Always work hard to try to make a success of everything,” he said.
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