FASHIONABLY NAMIBIAN INGO SHANYENGE Ingo Shanyenge’s star was rising in the UK, where he studied fashion, when he decided to bring his passion back to his native Namibia to help build the fashion industry here.
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ngo’s designs – high fashion that celebrates African style with tailored finishes – were featured at Namibian Fashion Week and quickly became sought after by high-profile personalities. Ingo shares his knowledge of fashion by serving the board of the Fashion Council of Namibia.
inspires me. We need to install confidence in the youth to take their ideas and make them into careers that make life easier for people. MYD: How do you think we can instill that confidence? IS: We have to be examples, come out as heroes. If you have an uncle, a family member who’s done great stuff, tell his story. We have a lot of good stories to tell.
MYD: Tell us a little bit about yourself, Ingo, and how it is that you got into fashion? IS: I’ve always been artistic, from a young age. In high school, I designed our final matric jacket, and that kickstarted it for me. Growing up in Walvis Bay also influenced me. It’s got a fashion vibe and is renowned for ‘dressing up’.
MYD: Let’s talk for a moment about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. IS: I think it’s very important to push beyond a comfort zone because if you don’t, you become stagnant. Coming alive happens when we do soul-searching and find out exactly what our passion is, and then just work on that.
MYD: You were becoming a big name in fashion in the UK, but you decided to bring this passion home. IS: Yes, it’s all about inspiring. In the UK, it’s competitive. Also, everything has already been done in the UK, whereas I feel like Namibia needs me more.
MYD: Have you had support from communities and your family for the work you do? IS: I had to prove myself. My parents were great; they don’t impose their views on me, but in the beginning it was kind of tough. I had to convince people that fashion is a career and not just a hobby. In the beginning, when you say you are a fashion designer, people think you are only stitching or fixing things for people.
MYD: What guided you to be where you are now? IS: It wasn’t someone who helped me – it was the obstacles that made me who I am now. I had this T-shirt brand, Small Boy, and what gave me the drive to carry on were the obstacles that I encountered. Getting the printing done, sourcing the T-shirts, I kind of fell back and said, ‘Okay, let me try,’ and that’s when I decided to go and study, to get into the industry, to understand suppliers.
MYD: What is your advice for dealing with the people who don’t understand, the detractors? IS: Prove them wrong. Believe in yourself first, then find the gap in the market and prove those people wrong, because they will then come onboard. It’s like the fashion industry here that was nonexistent for many years. We’ve got a lot of designers in this country, but not many designers who are celebrated, where people wear their designs regularly. When you start making it a business, that’s when people realise there’s a market for it, and now they are all jumping in.
MYD: What would your advice be for people facing obstacles right now? IS: Just take it on the chin because obstacles will build you into the person you must become. MYD: Who inspires you, Ingo? IS: Creatively, I get inspired by my surroundings, by nature, by people. What inspires me the most is someone who comes from nowhere, and becomes a breath of fresh air, and just makes it in life. A good success story, a good testimony
MYD: How important is passion in the process of building your dreams?
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