Loin Cloth & Ashes designs for success

FROM her parents' home in Pretoria to the runways of New York, Anisa Mpungwe has mothered her fashion label, Loin Cloth & Ashes, to success.

We speak just a few days before Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Joburg. She's hardly slept and her schedule is hectic, so we settle for a chat over the phone.

"My team and I have worked overnight and I'm only operating on two hours of sleep. Fashion Week is crazy," she says, sounding exhausted but still fired up for the challenge.

Growing up, the Tanzania-born fashion designer didn't always plan to venture into fashion.

"My dad was an ambassador to South Africa and I had a political upbringing, so I wanted to be a lawyer or a politician. But somehow I ended up in fashion," says Mpungwe (29).

During her studies at Midrand Graduate Institute, she worked part time to suss out the industry.

"After varsity I worked for [design label] Black Coffee as an assistant, but I didn't last because I wanted to do more with my life. I then entered the Elle New Talent competition in 2008 and won."

Winning the competition - of which David Tlale is a past winner - put her on the map. Mpungwe was the first Tanzanian designer to showcase at New York Fashion Week, in 2010.

"I worked hard, like a possessed person. I had two weeks to produce a 30-piece collection for New York Fashion Week. Back then I didn't even have a team. I don't know how I pulled it off, but I guess you have to push yourself to know what you're capable of."

Her store, Loin Cloth & Ashes, opened in the Maboneng Precinct in central Joburg in 2012 and she has designed for Mr Price. Big-name clients include radio personality Anele Mdoda and US singer Solange Knowles, Beyoncé's sister.

"I was attacked by some people for dressing Solange, accusing me of only dressing international stars. What people don't know is that my fashion label started with one-on-one consultations. I made clothes for people's aunts and mothers. I didn't just decide to dress international stars."

She says her fashion line's unusual name was born in high school . "I went to St Mary's DSG and the Bible was part of our lives. It was almost like a textbook, so we got a lot of terms from it. The original term is 'sackcloth and ashes', which means repentance, but I changed it to Loin Cloth & Ashes ."

Mpungwe is a workaholic and admits that she doesn't know how to have fun any more.

"I used to be such a cool and fun person, but now when I have time off I just sleep. Having fun for me now means going out for a meal, and that's not often," she laughs.

Her clothes are accessible, laid-back and comfortable, reflecting her personal style. "I'm a bit of a tomboy, so I love being comfortable. My clothes have the cool factor without having the hippie effect. I don't get the hippie look."