24-year old Dominique Mokonyane’s self-taught passion started to take gradual steps when he bought his first sewing machine in the beginning of 2018. Prior to that he would only sketch some designs and customize his own clothes by hand.
Dominique is currently the creative director of his own designer label, Wear Majesty Studios (WMS).
Dominque said that he didn’t originally wanted to be a fashion designer. “To be quite honest, not at all. Neither did I see it coming. Funny enough I also wasn’t really fond of pieces my grandmother would make for my brother and I thought clothes should only be bought at retail stores ( how absurd of me).”
The one person who became a sense of inspiration for him when he first started was Kanye West (now officially called Ye).
In his opinion what makes a good fashion designer, is the ability to “creatively conceptualize an extraordinary idea and make it into something that can both add value to peoples’ daily lives and also have a positive impact in the society.”
Dominique was originally born and raised in a small town called Odendaalsrus in the Free State province. “I was brought up by my grandmother while my mother was studying, up to the age of 10 years and then my mother came to fetch my brother and myself to live with her in Bloemfontein. I then matriculated from Bloemfontein South High in 2017.”
The first thing he would change is eradicate poverty.
His advice to upcoming designers? “Be prepared for a rollercoaster, do loads of research, keep perfecting your craft from a creative and business standpoint, have fun!”
The biggest life lessons he has learnt is discipline and gratitude.
Dominique is currently living in Bloemfontein, but he still loves his hometown. “It’s extremely nostalgic and I wish it could be more developed and become easily accessible to broader opportunities.”
