South African Fashion Week highlighted the beauty of South African designs while placing a strong focus on making the fashion industry sustainable.
It was lights, camera, and action for models and designers this past weekend at the annual Spring/Summer 2024 South African Fashion Week (SAFW) at Mall of Africa. The event was overflowing with guests ready to celebrate the country’s current fashion landscape.
The three-day event from 18 to 20 April was a celebration of South African stories through new designs and offered the runway to many fledgling designers from across the country. The star-studded event did this by focusing on sustainable fashion.
The idea of ‘green fashion’ has become a hot-button issue; and SAFW has committed to a clean fashion ethos since 2019, in a bid to create a non-toxic fashion industry. Many of the designers who presented their collections over the weekend emphasised the importance of sustainability in their designs and brands.
The opening night presented the Mr Price New Talent Search, which showcased collections by new and upcoming designers, challenging them to produce their garments sustainably. Jessica-Ann Shepherd, the creator of ‘Oddity’ was this year’s winner, with her collection of vibrant, utility-inspired clothing.
Photo: Victoria Hill
Shepherd mentioned in her pre-show introduction that “responsible fashion is important because it is a solution to the industry’s environmental and social issues. We incorporate responsible fashion by upcycling, slow design, and reusing waste.”
Vanya Mangaliso, designer and creator of ‘Sun Goddess’ — a luxury heritage brand from Johannesburg told Wits Vuvuzela about their strategy to ensure a greener footprint. “Once we have cut the clothes, there [are] a lot of cuts of fabric that fill up landfills, which is wrong. We take those clothes and cut byproducts, like pillows and quilting to make sure every piece of fabric is used,” says Mangaliso.
This is a view shared by many of the featured designers in ensuring their work is green, and not adding to the growing environmental issues worldwide.
The final day featured a collection by Mpumelelo Dhlamini from ‘Ezokhetho, a fashion brand with a focus on African women and their stories. Dhlamini explained that green fashion is unique to each designer. “For us it is finding ways of using leftover fabric because we are a print-heavy brand, so we always have prints that we can reuse and reintroduce,” explains Dhlamini.
Dhlamini stated that Ezokhetho’s print-heavy style helps to tell their stories, and this season’s collection titled, Umthwalo meaning ‘carry me’ looks at the relationship between an adult and their parents. “It’s basically tapping into your inner child as an adult.” This collection featured bright, and vibrant prints to highlight the depths of that narrative.
Much like Ezokhetho’s collection, the diverse designs featured throughout the weekend told different stories, many of which were inspired by South Africa and the designer’s experiences.
Leon von Solms, a designer from Cape Town says his collection was inspired by flowers to express the world’s need for positivity. “My inspiration is flowers…I specifically painted local flowers, because I just feel we need flowers; we need love and happiness.”
Photo: Victoria Hill
This eccentric 1970s themed collection made use of metallics and bright colours, and hand painted flora to put forward a message of “happiness and peace.” Von Solms’ collection also featured accessories his colleague created from recycled materials to match each of the flowers painted on the dresses.
The event was a lively showcase with beautiful prints, colours and silhouettes that highlighted the intricacies of local design. South African Fashion Week will return in October 2024 for the Autumn/ Winter collections.
FEATURED IMAGE:
Models showcasing Italian designer, Viviers, 2024 Spring/ Summer SAFW Collection. Photo: Victoria Hill
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