Coke Threds showcases groundbreaking young designers
JOBURG – Coca-Cola collaborates with four young South African designers on new apparel colletion.
A brand-new initiative by Coca-Cola Africa is bringing popular culture and fashion together in a diverse voice that is uniquely South African. The brand recently unveiled Coke Threds, a first of its kind apparel collection. The collection is rooted in the brand’s purpose of bringing people together, Coke Threds is a design collaboration with local micro labels.
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Michelle Cloete, Coca-Cola marketing manager, said the collaboration was an exciting journey of co-creation between Coca-Cola as an iconic brand and fashion designers who are using Coke’s legacy icons to inform their designs.
“Coke Threds provides a way for us to tell a Coke story through the lens of fashion so that we can connect with teens in an authentic Coke way,” said Cloete.
Rich Mnisi, SGOD, Sol-Sol and Maylee have officially collaborated with Coca-Cola Africa for the youth-centred fashion campaign. The four designers featured in the collection all boast distinct design aesthetics which come together through Coca-Cola in the form of Coke Threds.
“Coca-Cola is a brand we have always been fond of – from the brand aesthetic, enthusiasm and what it stands for. It’s a perfect match for the Rich Mnisi brand and we share that same enthusiasm,” Rich Mnisi said.
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Mpho Makua, co-founder of Styla Gang Original Designs said he saw it fit to take on the opportunity to work with Coca-Cola as a way to show the world that the brand is more than a refreshment beverage.
“For us, it’s something you can always count on when the spirit of togetherness is shared. Coca-Cola is affiliated with bringing people from different backgrounds together and we as Styla Gang pride ourselves on having the ability to develop a new sense of unity in the youth especially the youth in our townships,” Makua said.
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Melissa Kieser, founder of Maylee, a contemporary Cape Town-based womenswear brand, shared the importance of brand synergy in partnerships and said a lot of Maylee’s ideas are about being young and cool.
“Coca-Cola is pop culture, and in 2018, more than ever so is streetwear. This collaboration made sense to us on all levels,” said Mathew Kieser founder of Sol-Sol.
