Sheba Kassami is one of them. While her peers are earning big money from practicing the law that she too studied, she is ready to collect the big bucks from fashion.
This proprietor of SKP Clothing is one talented fashion designer who has been underground, worked with different companies including Miss Tourism Uganda, among others. Kassami is a lawyer by profession, who has found her true passion in fashion and has not been afraid to walk away from the courtroom and prestigious wigs.
“I am not going back to formal employment,” Kassami told The Observer.
“I left my job to focus on fashion business, because I had love and passion for it since I used to dress more like men.”
The mother of one has an impeccable taste in fashion, whether she chooses the chic androgynous look or African print.
“As a young girl, I insisted on choosing my clothes whenever my parents took me shopping, because I did not want to end up with outdated outfits. I feel that I am defined by what I wear; so, I am quite selective,” she said.
HOW SHE STARTED
Kassami’s eye for high fashion was specially honed after the birth of her son and she found herself as a stay-at-home mother. Motherhood and being confined to her home took a toll on her, but also allowed her creative juices to finally flow and give fashion a serious thought.
“One of my friends approached me with the idea of fashion business, because I already had the passion and desire for it. I went for it. I told my mother what I had in mind. She had seen my creative side come alive in my sketches of everything around me, such as animals, flowers and people. She readily agreed to support me,” Kassami said.
With a starting capital of Shs 2m, she started the fashion line that targets both men and women. She mostly designs haute couture, kaftans, luxury smart, kitenge, custom T-shirts and shorts/pants suits.
She also makes clothing items, made-to-order one-off pieces depending on her client’s choices. Kassami has now gone into designing wedding gowns, dinner outfits weekend wear such as polo shirts with African print designs on them.
THE DREAM
In 2017, Kassami attended the Miss Uganda finals wearing jeans and she felt bad because everyone at the event was very smart. That gave her the zeal to push more for her fashion label.
“I want my fashion label to be one of those other big brands where people get to come to my store and get inspired by fashion and feel proud to wear my clothes.”
According to Kassami, her turning point was when Miss Tourism Uganda approached her, asking to use her dresses on the contestants, then.
“In my life I had never made such great work and at some point I thought of giving up on the job because it was really too much work,” she recalled, saying the gowns came out so perfect and the Miss Tourism Uganda bosses loved her work. Doesn’t she regret giving up law? Not really; she is still making a decent living off the vocation she really loves, and to Kassami, that is all that matters.
“So, in a good month I make about Shs 5m as profit. Though the money is very far from the main target, but still I am proud of myself and the work,” she added.
Kassami’s prices depend on the fabric and design that a client wants. But mostly for men, outfits range from Shs 250,000 to Shs 1.2m; wedding gowns cost anywhere from Shs 2m to Shs 3.5m. Her major challenge now is to get more people to appreciate her work and support her hustle.
“Most people are yet to know the brand very well. [Plus], the materials are very expensive; importation of the materials from China, Italy is also another challenge that I face. Since I don’t have much money to push or market my brand on television networks, I use my social media handles and also sometimes get my friends with big followings to push my work on their pages.” Kassami went to Nabisunsa Girls School, St Joseph’s Girls School, Nsambya, Makerere University for a degree in Law and later joined the Law Development Centre.
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