In Design: EMIT

Monochrome reminds me of when we all thought leggings were a fad fashion and would blow over by the following season. As I type this, I'm wearing leopard print leggings with ankle boots, and will only change my my wooly over-sized polo neck into a chunky cable knit long sleeved dress before I go out. It's safe to say the leggings epidemic went no where. Put that on Monochrome. EMIT designs bring you that trusty black and white mixed in with a whole lot of edgy. I speak to co-designer for EMIT Pressa about how the label started and what his inspiration was and still is.

Is Pressa on your birth certificate?

I got the name from my friends and I had to accept it but at first I ddnt even want to hear a person calling me that name until I found myselfand then the name was stimulating.

Interesting... so you didn't grow up knowing that you had a designing talent? When did you grow into it and why did u decide that it was something you wanted to do as a profession?

I ddnt grow up knowing that I had a design talent but from a young age I had a taste for fashion so I always wanted to look different from people around the scene. It all came together in 2009 with the gothic and punk style. I had piercings and used to dress in black at all times and I was in love with the look cause when I would walk the streets and malls I'd get all this attention.

And you love attention huh?

(Laughs) Yes I do love attention. That fashionista passion of mine was in my system until 2012 when vintage was introduced again in South Africa and that really kept me busy cause I was all over looking for cloths in thrift shops. I used to mix vintage with punk which came out as Vintage Punk. I was all over gauteng and limpopo looking for clothes that would match the vibe and it was awesome cause people found it interesting. I was free in everythng that I wore even though most couldn't understand it, but they saw the passion I had for fashion. 2013 I saw that instead of buying clothes I could make my own clothes. I knew that if I could make obscure designs, those who want to look different would buy my products, so I bought a sewing machine (I didnt even know how to sew. I tought myself. I call this "naturaly educated and heavenly medicated". At first I had troubles on how to stitch different kinds of styles but it wasn't that challenging, I had google. I had to then register and open our own brand with my business partner. Things then got more challenging because that's when we needed to study fabrics, fashion equipments, style, trends, brands and latest fashion news. We watch fashion TV a lot. We also study the South African fashion industry via the streets, its awesome.

My style is all about the streets. I'm into street goth. It connects art and fad creations. It's beyond the normal fashion world brain capacity standard. We manufacture what people haven't seen before or something they've thought of but it will be on another level. It's from the mind then the heart listens then I apply the knowledge to create euphoria which turns into all black, all white ,black and white and grey. I have seen the balance of good and bad which maintains the energies from the universe and keeps my tranquility busy on creative thoughts.

How does the brand name EMIT speak into your brand?

EMIT means to PRODUCE or LIGHT. It matches the brand vision because we design from what is based on our consciousness.

Facebook: EMIT

Twitter: @EMITainment

Instagram: EMIT