OUR STORY.

Chantel Koning founded YouMeWe Designs in South Africa and has been the Creative Director and Head Designer since its inception in 2004 and her subsequent relocation to the UK in 2006.
By staying true to her African origin and roots, Chantel pays homage to the artistry of Ankara fabric and sees it as the embodiment of women’s creativity and adaptability.
Chantel designs and manufactures versatile, functional and effortlessly stylish garments for women of all ages and all sizes, from all over the world. She has recently explored both a menswear range and a gender-neutral ready to wear collection, which will be available online.
Her design ethos for YouMeWe has always been to create garments that grow with the wearer and becomes whatever the wearer needs it to be, by consistently providing “more ways, than one” to style a garment.
Chantel has operated the brand on a studio/salesroom platform for many years and one of the key reasons was to make the label more accessible to women and also to allow her to interact directly with potential clients.
Sometimes, as little as two styling options can be found in a design and at other times, as many as twelve styling options can be discovered in one garment. This requires a personal touch.

Learning how to both operate and service her machinery and equipment.
Establishing solid relationships with clients, suppliers and service providers.
Mentoring a variety of individuals on garment design, pattern making, garment construction and even sales.
Showcasing opportunities for Chantel 2009 - 2019:
YouMeWe Designs participated in the first “Pop-Up Africa” designer showcase, which took place in the UK in 2010, and every year since.
YouMeWe Designs participated in the first “South Africa Fashion Week’s –Designer Pop-Up Shop” in 2012 and again in 2015 and 2017.
YouMeWe Designs opened its first store at 27Boxes in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2014, sadly closing its doors in 2018.
YouMeWe Designs participated for the first time at “Africa Fashion Week” in the UK, 2019
However, part of growth is adapting and Chantel’s future vision for YouMeWe is to recreate its business focus and operations in line with new, modern, digital and customer centric thinking.
Join her, as she envisions a future of becoming a major contributor to the “slow” fashion industry, introducing a new online home for YouMeWe Designs, pursuing collaborations with like minded creatives and continuing to produce innovative clothing guaranteed to satisfy the wearer in “more ways, than one”.