WATCH: Designer puts old shoes to good use

Flora Fadzai Sibanda

WHILE many throw away old shoes because they are no longer of any use, Ms Sinini Ndlovu (37) of Manningdale suburb redesigns them into something new, and worth to be worn all over again.

In addition to the shoes, Ms Ndlovu who runs Sinini Collections, also makes fashion bags that are sold to different companies and individuals.

She is now looking into exporting so her brand can grow.

Although she did not like fashion and fabrics studies during her Advanced Level studies at Tennyson Hlabangana High School in Hope Fountain, she is happy she took the lessons seriously and learnt how to use the thread and sewing machine.

“After realising how many shoes people throw away because they are old and worn out, I decided to use my designing skills to change them into something new. So I started collecting old shoes and I repair them with the knowledge I got from street cobblers in the city centre,” she said.

Ms Ndlovu said she gets glue and new soles for the shoes to make the redesigned shoe stronger.

“After fixing the shoe itself, I use the java material to cover and design it to be something that looks new. I choose the java print because it tells a story that no other material can tell. The materials are all African and a person can choose the kind of shoe they want depending on how they relate to them,” she said.

Ms Ndlovu said her trade also gives one a chance to reduce littering. The businesswoman said waste can be turned into money. Apart from the shoes that she makes, the designer also makes bags from the java material and reeds.

She said she remembers how she used to hate fashion and fabrics in school to an extent that she once got zero percent in one of her examinations.

But after she finished high school, she developed a liking for sewing and designing.

She said a lot of people started liking her design and pushed her to make more.

“I do all my work here at home as this is my work station. My bags also have the same java print like the shoes because like I said the idea is to have something that will be beautiful but still tell a story and be unique. Being a female designer in Zimbabwe is really hard because access to funds so that one can grow their business tends to be hard and we are now faced with electricity load shedding which disturbs the way I work because I cannot operate my machine without electricity,” she said.