Joachim Garments to launch new store

By Matṧeliso Phulane

Local apparel brand Joachim Garments, which has dominated the fashion scene in the past few years, will tomorrow in Maseru celebrate the launch of what the owner calls its ‘first born store’.

Joachim Garments is a Basotho luxury street wear brand that offers a wide range of clothing such as dresses, jackets, pants and more. The brand has been releasing various collections for both summer and winter since its establishment.

Founded in 2019, Joachim Garments is a local fashion brand owned by a self-taught fashion designer, Katiso Tsoho, a Health Information Management graduate from Botho University. His masterpieces are inspired by Basotho culture and history.

In an interview with theReporter this week, Tsoho said the motivation to open the store came after realising the speed at which the company was growing and grabbing the attention of fashion lovers.

“Basically, what I wanted to do with this store is give people the experience and sort of like, a thank you note to everybody who supported us from the time we were working inside a single room using it for sewing and basically everything.

“Now we are trying to elevate and give clients a well-deserved experience with this shop, where they can get our clothes readily available,” Tsoho enthused.

He indicated that they have all along been working with order placements but had limitations, with clients unable to get their stuff when they need it.

The decision to expand by securing a place is meant to ensure that they now get their clothes readily available on shelves.

Tsoho said he has invested around M300 000 on the entire shop since the work on it started.

He revealed that some of the challenges he encountered since the business commenced include getting the right quality of materials such as fabrics and equipment.

“We have a challenge of getting the right machines, quality fabrics, not to mention learning the nitty-gritties of the retail business. What we want is to deliver the best trusted quality made by Basotho in Lesotho, and distribute it globally.

“We want to demonstrate that we, too, can own luxury fashion brand made by Mosotho in Lesotho,” he emphasized.

Despite of all his challenges Tsoho’s achievements include collaborations with big businesses like Econet, Vodacom, Maloti Mountain Brewery, and different banks.

“However, our biggest achievement is this opening of our own shop. This shows growth, a reward to us to say here we are, and this is how far we have come.  I am also going to create 15 to 20 job opportunities to Basotho,” he pointed out.

According to Tsoho, tomorrow’s launch is actually a celebration of First Born, his first store.

“It’s going to be all about good music, good people, good fashion experience, and everybody has to look the part.

“They have to look cool and dress up for the day, to express themselves through fashion. I am looking forward to seeing everybody tomorrow.

“There is going to be a lot of content creation such as videos, reels, pictures, and a good time,” Tsoho added.

The line-up for the event includes the likes of Shaqez, Toxique and Goldhearted, while performances will be by Thabo Mora-Mobu, Emjay Lae and Pro black.  Boobz will be compering the day-long event.