Bongiwe Walaza

Designer

in Mqanduli South Africa

Walaza is a popular South African clothes designer. Bongiwe grew up the daughter of a home dressmaker and learnt to make clothes from her mother's fabrics. She studied Electrical Engineering, but began designing and making dresses for herself when she was working at Telkom. In 1997 enrolled at Natal Technikon to learn more about dressmaking and design. Bongiwe has since dressed numerous high profile personalities locally and received several accolades in the media. She has also been a product developer and trainer for Wild Silk Africa. Bongiwe's fashion related awards span over 10 years, including showcasing and exhibiting her designs in New York, India, Las Vegas, London, Switzerland, Japan, Milan, Vietnam, Singapore, Greece, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Egypt and Singapore. She has a range of clothing under the label Bozza in selected Edgars stores. Winning the M-Net Africa Design Award took Bongiwe to the 2001 New York Fashion Week.