The story of Malawian fashion designer Wedson Titus Chatsika started from humble beginnings.
Chatsika is a professional tailor and designer plying his trade at Nkhotakota Boma under the name Wed C Fashions.
The 35-year-old creates designs for weddings, engagements, corporate gatherings and fashion events. He also designs for various personalities tailor-made for them.
He said: “When I took my first steps into the design industry, I had nothing. My only motivation to step into the fashion and design trade was my passion and belief in what I wanted.
“In 2010, I joined Don Bosco Technical Institute through the Technical Entrepreneurial and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TEVETA) to study Tailoring and Fashion Designing.
“Making a career choice is not easy, but what inspired me to choose tailoring was that it was something I could be trained in and stand on my own easily. My mother encouraged me as well, saying it was what she wanted to do.”
After completing three years of study, he was engaged by Nissah Fashions in Area 12, Lilongwe where he did industrial attachments.
“After working with them for two years, I thought of having my own shop because of the demand I had from people in my village. So, I started the shop only with the sewing machine I was given by TEVETA.”
He added that many of his friends encouraged him and posted his work on their social media platforms, which started getting him noticed and helped him land his first job.
The fashion designer learned a lot about the fashion and business.
Chatsika has so far employed three tailors who sews and designs different kinds of garments such as suits for men, morning gowns for pre-wedding photoshoots, winter tops, shirts for men, and clothes for various occasions ranging from weddings, engagements and uniforms.
In the process of producing garments for the community, many people started asking him to train them in tailoring-based skills.
He says the interest in imparting the skills grew, and he joined a number of technical colleges to teach. This helped him open another tailoring workshop in Zomba, Domasi.
“While in Zomba, I was trained in pedagogy (methodologies of teaching) and entrepreneurship. That’s to say, teaching in tailoring and fashion designing, entrepreneurship, and producing different types of garments are the main services we offer.”
Apart from having a tailoring workshop and teaching in various colleges, he also teaches in Uganda the same fashion designing and entrepreneurship.
His worry is that there is little fabric produced locally, and the most materials such as fabrics are imported which makes them expensive to purchase and hence limiting creativity and final product costs, which also affects demand.
“We also do not have adequate training centres and platforms to learn advanced skills, share experiences and opportunities.”
He believes Malawi’s fashion industry is still budding and people need to be patient and watch it grow.
“This is a career for me. I have to deliver quality so I can earn a living. I dream very big. I see my designs everywhere in Malawi and beyond. I also plan to transform my business into a non-profit social enterprise to upscale arts community programmes and mobilise resources,” he said.
He, however, advises upcoming entrepreneurs to stop depending and putting all their efforts into getting employed.
Ellen Machira, a customer recommended the tailors work.
“By providing my exact measurements, I received a dress that fit my dimensions perfectly and the price is reasonable,” she said.
