SA’s small towns showcase fashion and creativity
Entrepreneurs say finding sponsors is hard
Mention fashion week to anyone in South Africa, and chances are they will immediately think of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week or SA Fashion Week with their array of wellknown fashion designers parading expensive garments on the runway.
However, with the abundance of talent in our country, it can safely be said that Mercedes-Benz and SA Fashion Week only scratches the surface when it comes to showcasing what Mzansi has to offer.
It was this premise that propelled young people around the country to start their own fashion showcases, with the hopes of them gaining enough momentum to rival the big fashion weeks in SA.
The following are fashion weeks in SA’s small towns where young entrepreneurs can showcase their talent.
Kwa-Thema Fashion Week
Steven Monoki is a KwaThema resident in the East Rand who realised the lack of recognition for the designers in his area, and launched Kwa-Thema Fashion Week in February.
The event runs for two days, with 10 local designers showcasing in each show, plus a yard sale scheduled for the final day to enable buyers to purchase some of the designers’ creations.
Monoki says he funds everything from his own pocket, as getting sponsorship has proved difficult.
“The challenges we’ve encountered so far are concerning funds. Hosting such a big event requires a big budget to cover costs concerning the venue, catering, security, marketing, tickets, and booking artists and models,” he says.
“Sponsors are simply not interested in coming on board for a project they consider small and unknown, which I find unfortunate. So I literally have to do everything myself.
“Another challenge is getting the media to be part of this event, as they need us to be ‘relevant’ before they can attend to cover it,” says Monoki.
“Overall, it has been very hard, but my hope is that we can show South Africa what talent lies unearthed in small towns.”
Rustenburg Fashion Week
Known as the home of platinum, Rustenburg also boasts talented fashion designers who, thanks to Jewel Mashao, the managing director of Rustenburg Fashion Week (RFW), get to show their work annually.
Mashao says that Rustenburg Fashion Week is in its second year, and that they have 11 designers from the North West following a gruelling selection and audition process, who get to showcase over the course of two days.
The lack of sponsorship and support has also proven to be the Achilles heel for RFW, as Mashao says big businesses are reluctant to get involved.
“Sponsors simply decline and say they do not have budget. Convincing sponsors from Johannesburg to travel to Rustenburg is also (difficult).
“We actually believe that direct marketing and knocking on doors will be a better solution,” he says.
Mashao says their vision is to position Rustenburg as the fashion hub of the province.
Tshwane Fashion Showcase
Launched in 2015 by husband and wife design duo Bongani and Taylor Tambo, the Tshwane Fashion Showcase boasts an impressive 29 local designers who get to show their creations over a two-day period.
“It actually runs twice a year. We have the winter collection showcase, which is usually in April/May and the summer collection in September,” says Bongani.
“We started this showcase because we didn’t want to wait for the government’s Arts and Culture [Department] to sponsor us, which is a challenge. Instead, we wanted to do something on our own and give local designers a platform to expose their talent.”
The top designer from the showcases is selected to showcase at the Africa Fashion Festival in Ghana and Dubai Fashion Week, which is a big jump-start for their career.