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Founder and creative director of design label Palse Homme Paledi Segapo was this week the recipient of the African Designer of the Year award at the Swahili Fashion Week.
Segapo became the first South African to be honoured at the annual fair. The fashion week was held at The Sea Cliff Hotel in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and ended with an award ceremony to honour designers in Africa.
When Segapo jetted off to Tanzania early last week for the prestigious awards ceremony, he did not expect to win.
“I did not anticipate this win, as I was up against very strong designers, who are accomplished. I feel very privileged and honoured, but scared and excited at the same time, as these are very big shoes to fill,” he said.
He told City Press he owed all his success to his customers; if it wasn’t for their existence his brand would be close to nothing and his business would not be sustained.
Segapo, who was raised in Soweto, said he wanted to encourage young people who wanted to pursue a career in fashion design. He told them to be ready, as designing was an expensive journey.
“Anticipate challenges and always have a strategy set out to overcome them. Also make sure you are financially stable and prudent in your finances,” he said.
The designer was looking forward to the new year, as he has plans to set up an online store.
Segapo added that he was very excited to have his brand recognised outside of South Africa. It has been well received in Tanzania, where he has a store.
This is Segapo’s second award. In 2012, he received the iKusasa Award for the Creative Professional of the Year.
