I am a traditional dress maker
|Published
20/04/2016 67 year old Viginia Mlotshwa is a traditonal designer at Kwa Mai Mai Matket in Johannesburg. her bread and butter is mainly Xhosa and Zulu traditional beads and clothing. Picture: Nhlanhla Phillips 20/04/2016 67 year old Viginia Mlotshwa is a traditonal designer at Kwa Mai Mai Matket in Johannesburg. her bread and butter is mainly Xhosa and Zulu traditional beads and clothing. Picture: Nhlanhla Phillips
In a room full of intricate beading and carefully embroidered fabrics Virginia Mlotshwa introduces herself as a master in her craft. “Here I do traditional outfits of different kinds. I have a sewing machine and I can also do beadwork. I started this work a long time ago, I started around 1969. I only used to sew back then, beadwork wasn’t as popular.” She makes outfits for different traditions including a five-piece outfit for amaXhosa.