Balini Naidoo-Engelbrecht, an innovative fashion designer from Saldanha Bay, makes waves by creating unique clothing for the visually impaired using Braille.
“I am the only designer in the world with a Braille Identification System”, she proudly said. The System embeds braille into graphic prints and slogans on clothing empowering people by giving them fashionable clothing with Braille patterns.
“Braille is normally printed in circles, so I’ve pushed it and been more innovative. I’ve created graphic prints, but I’ve made my braille into squares. Like other brands that have slogans printed across the front, mine says ‘Lost in Translation’,” she said.
The brand raises awareness. It supports a cause in addition to being stylish. It’s bold, inclusive fashion that’s paired with ready-to-wear pieces; nothing too dramatic. Something that helps visually impaired people with a social challenge, the designer added.
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The designer said her range was inspired by her uncle who was visually impaired, and he used to constantly tell her about his daily struggles when it came to clothing, and he always needed assistance. She came up with the idea during her first year in business studies, one of her subjects of clothing design.
It was challenging to support theory or data because there was no research. She was frequently asked by people, “What is braille? Why on apparel? Why does this matter? People were unable to comprehend my methodology, that was really challenging for me,” she added.
The innovative fashion designer’s powerful message to people: “What you do for yourself dies with you but what you do for others lasts a lifetime.”
