From runway to rail Applause for retailer’s SA designer collection
THE SA Fashion Week (SAFW) began on Tuesday night at Hyde Park Corner in Joburg with a memorable showcase. Woolworths launched its 2017 StyleBySA seasonal campaign by championing homegrown talent, featuring a capsule collection of eight handpicked local designers who are making waves in the industry.
The capsule collection features designs by Rich Mnisi, Thebe Magugu, AKJP, Pichulik, Maria McCloy, Sol Sol, Selfi and Young&Lazy. From modern streetwear to footwear and accessories inspired by our continent, the debut collaboration was met with a positive response.
The showcase received rave reviews. In a first for SAFW, the collection was available online straight from the runway.
The partnership between Woolworths and SAFW has prioritised fast-tracking South Africa fashion from the runway to the rails.
Charmaine Huet, Woolworths group director of marketing and sustainability, said: “The quality of the work on show on Tuesday, and the response to it, is compelling proof of the incredible local talent the South African fashion industry has on offer.”
The StyleBySA capsule collection will be available exclusively online at www.woolworths.co.za while stocks last, this week. The collection launches in selected Woolworths stores (Canal Walk Shopping Centre, Cape Town; Sandton City Shopping Centre, Johannesburg; Mall of Africa, Midrand; Menlyn Mall, Pretoria; Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Durban) from April 12.
SA Fashion Week runs until Saturday. Visit www.safashionweek.co.za for more information. YOUNG&LAZY: ANEES PETERSEN How would you describe the pieces that you’ve put together for your collaboration with Woolworths?
I tried to keep things simple, focusing on my core pieces and incorporating three elements that I usually use in my designs, which are digital printing, silk screening and embroidery… what I’m offering Woolworths are mainly basics – your basic hoodie, sweatshirt and T-shirt . Who do you design your clothes for? Initially I designed for city kids from Cape Town and Joburg – kids that are influenced by the internet, social media and urban street culture, but I’ve slowly broadened my range to people from out of town.
How do you integrate local culture into your design?
I have always been influenced by social media and international trends, so I’ve only started incorporating local culture into my designs recently. As a Cape Malay Muslim living in South Africa… I’m trying to use my designs to tell a slightly different story about what it means to be South African.
How does Cape Town compare with Joburg in terms of inspiration?
There are a lot of creative people here, and a lot of the industry is based here, so there’s a great creative vibe, and I think Joburg is hungry for that. Why do you think streetwear is having such a moment in fashion?
I think largely because of social media and the new generation of influencers… I think there is a shift in the industry away from catwalks. SOL SOL: MATHEW KIESER Tell us about your collaboration with Woolworths?
It includes three pieces: a work jacket, a parka and a pair of pants, which are things I’ve done before but each piece has a number of tweaks and new additions, which are exclusive to this collection. All three pieces are navy, using the same fabric.
How have travels in the East inspired your aesthetic?
I go to Hong Kong and Japan and China fairly often, and it’s a weird one because the style over there is quite chaotic but also quite calm at the same time. I guess that sums up its influence on me and my work… So, for example, in my Woolworths collection, which is all navy and quite plain, I’ve included a big print on the back of the one navy jacket.
Are there any South African creatives you’d like to collaborate with?
I’d love to do something with someone who’s not that well known but who is really talented… Otherwise someone like Peter Hugo, he is an amazing photographer .
AKJP
Can you tell us a bit more about the pieces you’ve produced for the StyleBySA collection?
We’ve got three pieces for women and two for men…We have a mix of more simple, structured, minimalist pieces that we like to do, as well as a number of garments with interesting prints and embroidery.
Are your prints inspired by South Africa?
The clothes we have designed for the collaboration were made with the Durban landscape in mind, a very dense and tropical landscape, so for example we’ve incorporated fabric woven out of different threads of green, contrasted with some black.
Do you think the South African customer is becoming more fashion savvy?
I think people are catching on more with social media and so forth. But I do believe that South African brands are slowly evolving, It think it may take a bit of time because people do still love their international labels, but I think we’ll get there.
THEBE MAGUGU
What is your favourite piece in the collection?
It would have to be the pleated skirt, it’s a beautiful skirt and very flared out, so it starts from a straight pleat and then breaks up into a fish-bone pleat.
I live in Joburg and my last collection was called a social science, which was basically inspired by the women in town. I’m inspired by the things I see around me.
For whom do you design your clothes?
I design my clothes for powerful women… It think that’s because of the women I grew up with – my mother, aunt and my grandmother, who are very strong and independent women.
MARIA MCCLOY
Tell us about your collaboration with Woolworths?
I’m a shoe and accessory designer but for this collaboration with Woolworths, I am stocking three women’s shoes and three men’s shoes, shoes and sneakers, which is so exciting for me.
What appeals to you about accessories?
I was definitely born with a love for accessories. I’ve always been that way and always aspired to be a jewellery maker… It happened really organically, I was a journalist and I was home in Lesotho, and then I met a guy making earrings and I asked him to make me a pair, and then I asked him to make them bigger and to put beads in, and then the next thing I knew I was on my way to becoming a jewellery maker and collaborator. In 2011, I started making African print clutches and accessories.
How does Joburg inspire your design and aesthetic?
You can see the history and style from Sophiatown to urban culture and traditional style, to all the people round the continent who live there. I spend all of my time in the inner-city, whether collaborating with necklace makers, traditional culture makers, or at the shoe factory, or taking the Gautrain or getting in a taxi, or hanging out at bars in Braamfontein.
SELFI
Do you think comfort has a role to play in contemporary fashion?
Definitely, particularly in our fastpaced modern day where people love to travel… I design clothes for the on-thego woman, someone who wants to slip something on and off, without having to iron her clothes. I think clothes should be easily translated and should transition from one space to the next.
Tell us about your Woolworths collaboration
We selected three pieces that are key to our brand – shirtdresses are something that do very well in our collection because they’re the kind of things that women can wear to work but can also go to dinner in, so it fits well into their lifestyle.