Designers showcase sustainable fashion
AFRICAN designers are big on sustainable fashion with their exhibition at Sandton City’s Diamond Walk.
The Sustainable Fashion Re-imagined Exhibition, which started in March and will run until April 18, sees brands like Nicci,
Lush, Shoetopia, Sunglass Hut, Poetry, Roberto Botticelli, Factorie, Skins Cosmetics, Daniel Wellington, Krispy Kreme, Woolworths, Grand Prix and Lindt Chocolatiers, have their branded paper shopping bags exquisitely crafted into bespoke sustainable designs by Franz Grabe.
That’s not all. Designers, Gert-johan Coetzee, Fundudzi by Craig Jacobs, Hangwani Nengovhela from Rubicon, Lezanne Viviers from Viviers Studio and Lara Klawikowski, also have their designs on display.
Jacobs, who has been in fashion since 2004, has always used sustainable fabrics. For this exhibition, he trawled his archives and came up with three designs made of cashmere and hemp.
“Sustainability is all about being conscious of what you’re wearing,” he said. “It means the fabrics and the construction are not harmful to the environment. Young designers should not rack their brains trying to find sustainable fabrics. They should rather think about what a sustainable process is. Look at what the problem is and find a sustainable solution.”
Nengovhela, of Rubicon, exhibited the “Nature Meets Fashion Sustainability” collection.
“The capsule collection is inspired by the Mapungubwe Nature Conservation Park, a majestic world heritage site,” she said. “It’s rich with sand dunes that shape and form a mythological history of origin. The muse is the re-imagination of Queen Mapungubwe. I used biodegradable natural fibres to create an art form that is expressed on the garments.”
Klawikowski, winner of the Innovative Design and Materials Award, and the Changemaker Award at the TWYG Sustainable Fashion Awards 2020, showcased a dress made from recycled plastic, part of her Spring/summer 20 “Strange Flowers” collection.
From the “Kraal Couture”
2020 collection comes Coetzee’s sustainable cotton jacket with tulle sleeves.
“Sustainable fashion reaches far beyond using only recyclable fabrics. Manufacturing through local crafters to support our economy is just as important,” said Coetzee.
Viviers, of Viviers Studio, presented a plastic coat made of repurposed and sterilised medicinal, electronic and Ucook home waste. It also has newspaper headlines, laminated, to send out positive messages.
Speaking of sustainability, she said: “We pride ourselves in sustainable practice. We aim to minimise textile waste by individually hand-cutting our garments, re-using off-cut fabrics to innovate new editions.”