South Africa’s two rival fashion weeks were a celebration of African design as well as an indication of the growing corporate support for the country’s young designers.
At South Africa Fashion Week in Johannesburg, which was held earlier this month, one of its banner sponsors, the department store chain Woolworths, backed the Woolworths StyleBySA show, which featured eight local designers: Rich Mnisi, Thebe Magugu, AKJP, Maria McCloy, Sol-Sol, Selfi and Young & Lazy.
The designers showed modern streetwear to footwear and accessories inspired by the African continent; from the runway, the collaborative capsule collection was, in a first for SAFW, made available online immediately and what ensued was “a frenzy of online sales,” according to Charmaine Huet, Woolworths’ group director of marketing and sustainability.
Fast-tracking runway to retail has been a priority for the partnership of Woolworths and SAFW.
“As a passionately South African retailer we want to boost the visibility and viability of local designers,” Huet noted. “The quality of the work on show, and the response to it, is compelling proof of the incredible local talent the South African fashion industry has on offer.’’
After inventory of the StyleBySA capsule collection was exhausted via online sales, the collections became available in select Woolworths
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