Katlego Sekhu
Bonolo Mashigo is a dynamic and accomplished fashion designer, creative director, and CEO of B-Mashilo Designs. She is known for her exquisite designs, which have cemented her as a leading figure in the South African fashion industry.
Speaking to Bonolo BeeSting about her creative process, Mashilo says she was “born for this.”
“It is in me. It’s my skill; it’s my talent. I never run out of creativity. I’m living my dream. This is my element all the time,” she said.
Mashilo is committed to diversity and representation in the fashion industry. She has a predominantly female team, and she mentors young black female designers.
“You can’t aspire to be something you’ve never seen before. And the reason why I hire young black female designers is that I attended TUT and we had work-integrated learning. This is when they send you out into the industry and give you options to choose from,” expressed Mashilo.
“When I saw my application, it was always white males that were running successful businesses. I couldn’t see anyone who looked like me. I made a decision right there and then that I was going to be a representation of what young black female designers need to be. That is why I am so intentional about who I mentor and who I hire. I want to put out as much as I can.”
Before she fully pursued her passion and launched her own business, Bonolo Mashilo worked as a fashion buyer at the headquarters of a well-known retail store. She was a male footwear buyer, which meant she was responsible for stocking male shoes. This role gave her valuable experience in administration and logistics, which would later prove essential to running her own business.
Mashilo is grateful for the skills she learned in her previous role. “They have taught me how to move from being an employee to an employer,” she said. “You have to have business ethics. I’m not going to bash my former employer because they taught me how to run the empire that I am running right now. You can’t do that just with creativity and making dresses.”
COVID was the most challenging time for her business, as she had to vacate her studio and move back home because she could no longer afford to pay rent.
“I couldn’t make dresses anymore, and clients wanted refunds. People didn’t want to buy clothes because they couldn’t go anywhere anymore,” she said.
From the confines of COVID, she launched her online store, which has greatly increased her reach.
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