Traditional garments are not merely clothes; they are objects transmitting our stories and the expertise of skilled artisans. Tradition is also passed down in the creation and construction of our clothes, and the way artefacts, like clothes, are made, including the materials and the processes, are all embedded into our communities and cultures. In South Africa, consumers obtain personalised garments, such as traditional dress, from informal clothing manufacturing micro-enterprises (CMMEs). These CMMEs cater to local customers’ needs, providing them with individual and exclusive garments. However, little is known about how informal CMMEs design and develop apparel for their customers.

Fashion entrepreneurs contribute greatly to the local and South African economy. It is, therefore, vital to equip fashion entrepreneurs with necessary knowledge and skills, to ensure the success of their entrepreneurships. Fashion entrepreneurship demands occupation-specific skills. Without these skills, client satisfaction levels can decrease, influencing the success of the entrepreneurship.

This article aims to describe the need existing amongst peri-urban fashion entrepreneurs without formal fashion-related training, with regard to the possession and utilisation of fashion drawing skills. A quantitative approach by means of interviewer-administered questionnaires was employed to explore this need. Non-probability sampling was used to identify 114 respondents.