Meet Namibia’s Rising Fashion Star, Marshant van Rooi

At only 23 years old, rising fashion designer Marshant van Rooi is putting a new twist on wearable art with his brand of beautiful hand embroidered clothing. The Weekender caught up with the Rehoboth-born talent, who just returned from a stint in South Africa, where he studied fashion, to talk about his work and aspirations in the fashion industry.

I was born in Rehoboth and grew up in Windhoek. At the age of five, I started to sketch fashion figures with stylish outfits. I took it further and participated in various art competitions since primary school. During my high school years at Delta Secondary School, I further excelled with visual art as a supplementary subject until my matric year when I won merit awards for best student in visual art. In my matric year, the Ministry of Education retained my visual art profile to serve as a memorandum/measuring stick to evaluate the other matric pupils’ visual art exams.

I graduated at Fedisa, a specialised fashion institute where I obtained a three-year bachelor of arts (fashion) degree in Cape Town. Fedisa prepares its graduates with a huge diversity of career opportunities to be equipped with a wide range of knowledge and skills such as digital production, garment and pattern construction, journalism, marketing and business management.

My designs empower men and women with confidence and self-identification through personalised fashion. My garments offer handmade embellishments with high quality fashion products. Each of my embellishments has its own unique signature.

I am inspired by the Rococo and Victorian eras where haute couture originates from.

In my final year, only 36 out of 75 students were selected to take part in the graduate collection show. I was selected based on my edgy, unique designs with heavy embellishments, re-fabrication and for it being a great colour cohesive collection. I was overjoyed to participate with strong competition among third-year students, where my collection was showcased in front of important stakeholders within the South African fashion industry.

My target market is men and women in the age range of 17 to 60 years. They are youthful in spirit, open-minded and follow the latest fashion trends.

I want to plough back into the Namibian community with the knowledge and skills I have gained through my studies in fashion design to individuals and local celebrities.

Bright with hope and excitement for his future in fashion, Van Rooi is also keen on pursuing a master’s degree in Italy so that he can advance his skills. “Upon completion of my studies in Italy, I will return to Namibia, my home country, to take the fashion industry to the next level,” he said.

Follow Van Rooi on Instagram @mershantvan.

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