Molale�s love for fashion art

Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday July 14, 2017 16:10

 

Molale is a young man who believes that a true artist wears it, walks it and breathes it. This young man is a general artist. He is a fashion illustrator who only does fashion illustrations. He conveys ideas creatively for designers and believes that as much as fashion is in the arts industry it is also his art.

He said he has no formal qualifications in art adding that it came to him naturally. He said he just picked up a pen and pencil and started drawing. Molale explained that he always wanted his art to be worthy of being displayed in a gallery somewhere so he pushed himself harder and harder to enhance the quality of his work. However, he pointed out that it was not something that took place over a night as he spent lots of time practicing. “I’m a 23-years-old marketing graduate from the University of Botswana. My art is fashion. In as much as it’s roots lie in functionality, I like to embrace fashion as my art. I’m pursuing it simultaneously with my marketing communications profession. I am passionate about fashion. I enjoy adorning any silhouette with what I believe adds onto its beauty. I started by creating and adorning my silhouettes on paper then I started exploring more and more of the design aspect of fashion. It turned into a love for the field of fashion,” he said.

The young man said the public has warmed up to his art. He explained that he started illustrating in a time when the fashion industry was still at a growing stage. He added that the number of people who are more receptive of his art had grown quite tremendously with time.

Molale’s main mediums are coloured pencils and paper. Just like any other artist, Molale’s art has a signature, which his audience usually could tell who the artist of an artwork may be by the techniques they use to render. However he pointed out that his secret is to try to stay true to his repertoire to achieve consistency in his work.

“Didier Grumbach of the Chamber Syndicale De La Haute Couture in Paris describes a fashion artist’s repertoire as the prison they create and become enslaved to. It’s necessary for authenticity sake but it shouldn’t limit creative potential,” he said.

Just like other artists, this artist has pointed out that he faces some challenges which are common in the industry. He said many of the challenges involve lack of understanding in how art contributes to society. He also pointed out that institutions that are supposed to enforce standards, to preserve and protect the industry were developing quite slowly as compared to how fast the art industry was developing globally. He said those challenges hamper progress greatly.

Molale emphasised that there was great promise, as currently he believes they were going through a conscious awakening in that Batswana artists of today were beginning to catch up to the world. He said not only are they creating art that was authentic to Botswana but they were also setting their footprint in the world as a country to produce notable artwork.

“People will not support sub-par work even if it is local because value is attached to it. Artistic effort should match the pula effort,” he said.

Luckily, Molale said fashion designers in Gaborone who were interested in collaborating with him had approached him. He said he has many things in the pipeline and that all will be revealed when the time is right.

He said he hope to have established himself commercially in the fashion design industry as a creative/art director of repute in the next few years. Molale added that he would also like to see himself facilitate further growth in the design industry of Botswana. He pointed out that the industry was in a great stage for exponential growth.

Molale emphasised that with the resources availed to them they could be able to break the glass ceiling in their industry. “It is a daunting experience to showcase to the world the talent you have. Keeping it hidden however does not help you grow. You need to expose yourself to the elements so that you can find yourself in this incredibly diverse industry,” he advised.