Collaboration between Lesiba Mabitsela Studio and King Debs.
Botho is a SeSotho phrase that is roughly translated as the act of carrying the required level of respect for the other or in short treating the other with respect. With the concept of Botho in mind, this project looks into how fashion design, including related technological knowledge systems; modern, ancient, indigenous, analogue or digital whether from Western civilizations or the global South, can be treated as equal.
This collaboration between Lesiba Mabitsela Studio and visual/digital artist KingDebs seeks to illustrate this possibility by attempting to add a more conscious, human-spirit-centric, approach to a highly mechanical, solutions based, world view towards sustainability in the fashion industry.
We look to achieve this predominantly through combining selected philosophies from around the world such as the Japanese concept of Má, Eastern beliefs in reincarnation and the idea of Botho together with AR technology to highlight the benefits of drapery within the design of garments, and the zero-waste cutting techniques employed within the practice of Lesiba Mabitsela Studio.
