In our series of webinars focussing on Women’s Month, this week we speak to Jessica Molebatsi ‒ fashion designer and founder of the JessicaJane label ‒ about women and entrepreneurship.
From a love affair with fashion which started as a little girl helping her grandmother make lovingly crafted wedding gowns, to creating her own brand that reflects a woman’s true value and femininity, Molebatsi is living her dream and empowering women to express who they are and feel more confident.
After studying fashion at the Durban University of Technology, she worked as a costume designer on feature films where she met her future husband actor and producer Wandile Molebatsi. However, something was missing, and so in 2010 she launched her fashion label on the living room floor of her flat which she shared with a friend.
From such humble beginnings, she has dressed Winnie Mandela for her 80th birthday, and local celebrities like Terry Pheto, Precious the Planner, Minnie Dlamini, Boity, Mrs SA Matapa Maila and Amanda du Pont.
After her marriage in 2013 and having two children, Molebatsi has still found time to invest in family and pour energy into her business, which she aims to make an international brand, fulfilling a dream sparked by one small stitch in her grandmother’s sewing room.
Catch her story and insights into entrepreneurial women in a webinar on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/IOSnewsSA this Tuesday, August 17 at 2pm.
The Independent on Saturday