"The whole journey was tough. Tough. We were only two men, me and my elder brother." He speaks of a childhood abruptly curtailed: "I started losing my childhood at a young age. I was supposed to feel responsible whether I liked it or not, because you can't show emotion, and you have to pretend to be okay, but when you're alone," his voice drifts off for a moment, "It beats you badly."

"I started with makeup as a hobby," Suzanne reflects, thinking back to those early days. It’s not an easy state of being, navigating life after a divorce at such an early age. Yet, she had reason to keep going. "I was driven by a love for the craft,” her voice resonates with intensity at this point, “but completely lost when it came to business."

"At first, I was just selling through WhatsApp and Instagram," Leah shares, gesticulating as though crocheting in that very moment, a constant, rhythmic accompaniment to her words. "I loved making pieces, but I had no real plan. I didn’t track my profits, and I wasn’t sure how to grow my business."

For Billy, fashion isn't purely about patterns - it’s his voice. "It’s my way of speaking to the world," he says. Each tailored suit, every flowing dress, every jacket leaving his hands tells a story. Not just of style - it’s a story of survival, of profound self-expression in a place where asserting your identity can be a powerful act, a compelling testament that beauty and artistry do flourish, even in the most challenging environments.

"The whole journey was tough. Tough. We were only two men, me and my elder brother." He speaks of a childhood abruptly curtailed: "I started losing my childhood at a young age. I was supposed to feel responsible whether I liked it or not, because you can't show emotion, and you have to pretend to be okay, but when you're alone," his voice drifts off for a moment, "It beats you badly."