Handmade dreams: Iowa fashion designer goes global
Growing up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belange Mutunda would spend her spare time fixing things around the house. From there, she realized how much she loved to create with her bare hands.
At the same time, she developed a love for the flowers found in her country. She would paint them and sometimes even make them out of paper. One day, she decided to go to Goodwill, pick out a floral print dress and use the fabric to make a purse.
When she brought the purse to school, one of her classmates instantly loved it. So much so that the next day, she returned with extra clothes of her own and $10, asking Belange to make her a custom piece. And what started as a favor for a friend became her first step toward entrepreneurship.
Soon, girls at her school were asking for their own custom designs, and Belange's business was born. But in 2014, in the Congo, fashion design wasnât viewed as a legitimate career.
âPeople used to make fun of me,â Belange said. âTheyâd say, âOh, you're going to be sewing on the street,â because we didnât really have fashion design as a thing back then.â
Despite the skepticism, her older sister believed in her vision.
âMy sister told me we have to find a name for your business. Because I was making everything by hand, she said, âHow about we call it Belange, like your first name, and then Handmade?ââ she said.
After debating whether to move to China, France, or the U.S., in 2015, at just 18, Belange moved almost 8,000 miles from the Congo to Iowa. She didnât know anyone, and she didnât speak English, but she said she knew she wasnât going to make it at home, and she had a dream.
She enrolled at Des Moines Area Community College to study fashion design and merchandising.
âIt was discouraging at the beginning,â she said. âI remember failing one of my marketing classes⊠I started thinking maybe everybody was right. But I remembered my journey from where I started, and I thought, well, Iâm already here, so Iâll just continue.â
She continued to design using African floral prints before realizing that to appeal to Western culture, sheâd have to change her business model.
Belange says that when she would tell people she was from the Congo, they would always ask her if she was OK, and at first, she didnât understand that.
âThey don't think about anything beautiful coming from outside of Africa. But I was looking at my country. I really want to tell the story about my country," Belange said.
After finishing at DMACC, Belange enrolled at Iowa State University and earned her Bachelor's degree in Creative and Technical Design. Later, she pursued a master's in Fashion Marketing at LIM College in New York before moving to California to expand her brand.
In California, Belange saw some of the same flowers she would see in the Congo. From there, she moved away from just the traditional prints she had been using and began designing pieces that merged florals from the Congo and America.
After that, Belange Handmade took off in the States. Her mother helped source fabrics, her brother built her website, and her sister handled marketing from all the way back home. And as soon as her business really began to bloom, Belange designed her greatest piece of all â her son.
âJust because I became a mom and I have a child doesnât mean life stops. The show has to go on,â she says.
And it did. Shortly after becoming a mom, Belange was accepted into the Shein X incubator program. She says it's one of the few programs that takes a chance on small creators, even while being a global fashion retailer.
Through the program, Belange has already designed five collections, creating over 35 designs. âI work on my designs when my son is asleep,â she explains. Now, using her hands in a different way, designing on Photoshop and Illustrator before sending her visions to Shein to produce.
Belange explains that slow fashion is important to her business. âI only design what people need,â she says. Only 100 pieces of her designs are produced, and they all have to sell out before she restocks.
In addition to her business and partnership, at just 28, Belange is currently pursuing a PhD in Merchandising and Entrepreneurship at Iowa State University, where she also teaches undergraduate students fashion and entrepreneurship. Her ultimate goal is to become a full-time professor, giving young people in Iowa the tools to follow their dreams just as she did.
»
» Download the free ÌÇĐÄvlog app to get updates on the go: |