Kiyemba and Nakiyemba speaking to one of the hosts at the fashion beach expo. PhotoS/ deusdedit bugembe
Although Joseph Kiyemba is a quantity surveyor now, that has not stopped him from working with his sister Joanita Nakiyemba in pursuing fashion.
Two siblings, Joseph Kiyemba and Joanita Nakiyemba, found love for fashion through different paths. As the elder, Kiyemba watched fashion shows growing up while his sister picked her mother’s outfits for various functions or work.
“I noticed years later that it would make a career for me,”’ Nakiyemba says of her budding career before getting on board with Kiyemba to birth their own fashion brand, Saati Ne Mpale.
Kiyemba says the fashion shows he attended turned him into an ardent windowshopper who visited specific stores and boutiques at least once a week. Fashion is about being unique and edgy. That sense of style is what gave Kiyemba the need to express himself through fashion and eventually got him thinking about a brand.
“At some point I searched for a Uganda fashion brand that produced works that trended with the global fashion language but very few had taken this direction,”he explains.
Saati Ne Mpale, the brand, is now up and taking shape by the day with future goals of dominating the fashion industry.
“To build a strong brand presence, compete globally while staying unique. This country is blessed with unique skills and talented people who have not found the opportunity to express it to the rest of the world. Part of this will be job creation,” Kiyemba paints a picture of where he envisages the project in future.
A model showcases one of the looks from the Saati Ne Mpale collection.
He also believes there is a lot to earn from the industry going by numbers and trends: “The industry is growing rapidly which makes it a money mine.”
Kiyemba holds a Bachelor’s degree in quantity surveying, a field in which he is practicing unlike Nakiyemba who plans on taking on fashion as a career.
“I chose fashion because it’s more practical and fun to play around with. There is never a dull moment when working with outfits,” she says.
Saati Ne Mpale got their first opportunity to appeal to the world in April at the fashion revolution beach expo themed “Garden of Eden” held at Speenah Beach. They seized the moment and showcased alongside some of the fashion houses like Zoe Couture, Dutah, Perfection Atelier, Donatella’s Castle, Apartment 56 and Fashions Moriah.
The initiative brings together upcoming stylists by giving them a platform to showcase their creativity. They were tasked with creating outfits in line with the Garden of Eden bible story, which means they worked with leaves, fibres, flowers, soil and so much more as raw material.
The siblings went all out, with some of their creations getting plaudits from the crowd. It is that platform that the siblings want to build on and use to put a mark in the industry.
“The crowd was moved and it encouraged us. We captured their attention and hope to grow as a brand and continue showing our creativity to the world,” said Kiyemba..
dbugembe@ug.nationmedia.com
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