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Veggie-inspired fashion brand designers push for healthy lifestyle

Amavege clothing label.
Amavege clothing label.
Image: Instagram.

In late 2017, Sakkie Stelele and Rider Seakamela started a fashion business that sought to motivate a healthy lifestyle among the youth.

The Zelspruit-based Amavege, which translates to vegetables, features a number of innovative threads, bags and accessories that can be personalised according to the consumer’s needs.

Born and bred in Marobjane village in Limpopo, Stelele and Seakamela moved at a snail’s pace, unsure what their business should entail. Seakamela, who had a keen interest in health, sparked the idea of a business that would motivate young people to not only up their swag but focus on their health as well.

“We saw a need that why can’t we raise awareness in the form of swag, whereby people realise that healthy living is very much important,” says Seakamela who came up with the company logo of a hand holding a carrot.

To stay ahead of the competition, Stelele and Seakamela focused more on marketing. Other than featuring their customers heavily on their social media page, they have also received support from well-known names such as soccer star Josta Dladla and actors Abdul Khoza and Pallance Dladla.

The business partners, who want to create more opportunities as they expand their business, currently sketch their creations and collaborate with other seamstresses.

This has brought a challenge of giving more time to each custom-made item as their products demand careful craftsmanship.

Seakamela shares that it is important to focus on nurturing one’s passion and dream to make it a success.

“If you have an idea or a dream, you must share it with the relevant people so that they can nourish it and give you the power to chase it. It was very hard for us [to get the business off the ground] but our persistence and passion to the vision enables us to keep striving and working on our dream.”

Stelele advises: “You must not wait to have money. Start your business with the small things that you have."

The pair opened store in Honeydew, north of Johannesburg in November, and another one opened in Cape Town this year. To see more of their designs, follow Amavege @amavegebrand on Instagram and Amavege on Facebook and Twitter.

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