Miss Malawi hosts fashion masterclass for vulnerable women

Miss Malawi 2025 Thandie Chisi has concluded a masterclass on elements and principles of designs along with 30 participants from cohort four of the Empower Her Now programme. The masterclass, under her organisation’s Sustainable Fashion and Women Empowerment Initiative, focused on the fundamentals of design thinking, creativity and practical application and is part of an ongoing six-month skills training programme to economically empower underprivileged women in local communities. In an interview, Chisi said the programme is important to her.

“This masterclass is one of my favourite sessions every year because it reminds me why this work matters,” she said. Chisi said the programme offers hope to the vulnerable. She said: “These are women who were often told life had passed them by because some of them are school dropouts, teen mothers and women facing serious financial hardship.

But when you give them skills, confidence and a safe space to learn, everything changes.” Through the Empower Her Now initiative, participants acquire practical tailoring and design skills that enable them to start income-generating activities to support their families. Chisi said the programme is deeply personal to her journey. “Growing up, I wanted to be a fashion designer and while that path didn’t unfold the way I imagined, I now find myself creating designers every year.

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That, to me, is purpose,” she said. Looking ahead, Miss Malawi 2025 revealed plans to scale the programme beyond its current location, following recent engagements with development partners and community leadership. “Our shared vision is to take this same model into new communities where women are equally eager for opportunity but lack access,” Chisi said.

She emphasised that skills-based empowerment remains central to her Beauty with a Purpose agenda. Miss Malawi Organisation public relations officer Stephen Mdala said Thandie Chisi is determined in everything she does. “We love that about her.

This is the foundation of what we’ve always wanted to achieve under the banner ‘beauty with purpose’. Moving forward, we want to see how we stand out on the international market,” he said.

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