Soweto Fashion Week: A celebration of fashion and new talent
No stranger to handwork and dedication to breaking into the fashion industry has seen her previously assisting in some of the major fashion weeks during her studies.
The Soweto Fashion Week (SFW) recently wrapped up its spring and summer 23/24 showcase at the Soweto Theatre, in a lavish four day glamour, style, fashion packed event from November 2 until November 4.
The spring/summer wear at SFW debuted 14 collections in a fusion of seasoned and emerging designers who encapsulated the global trends taking over the fashion industry.
Seasoned and highly esteemed designers such as Precious Lulu Couture, N.O.T.E and FBD Human Store showcased their latest collections.
The event attended by fashion buyers, critics and stylists exhibited emerging talented designers who made their Soweto Fashion Week debut under the Coca-Cola Emerging Designers Bloc.
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Urban News spoke to three designers who showcased their collections at the fashion week.
Fashion Design graduate, Nthabiseng Mabe (23) is the Co-founder of House of Cash. She was born and bred in Atteridgeville and her fascination with technical elements of garment making and designing led her to enrol at the Stadio school of fashion which saw her bag a Diploma in fashion design in 2022.
Her creative flair birthed her full collection named Y2K punk which had eight items with influences of punk which were inspired by Japanese animation series Nana.
“I tried to give it a modern twist with our choice of fabric. My clothes are not your typical looks – punk represents rebelliousness and that’s what we wanted the clothes to embody – to go against the norm and be bold. I wanted to showcase an understanding of punk fashion and its versatility.”
No stranger to handwork and dedication to breaking into the fashion industry has seen her previously assisting in some of the major fashion weeks during her studies.
“It was nerve wrecking because this wasn’t just a school thing, it is my brand but it was also very thrilling. The experience and the exposure are great.
“I want people to recognise the brand into a respected household name, hopefully return to the stage of Soweto fashion week and other fashion shows in the country so the brand can grow.
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Alison Kgomo (30), the brains behind Style by Ali, based in Davetyon is the winner of the Coca-Cola emerging designer’s bloc.
He describes himself and his journey in the fashion space as a calling. The self-taught designer picked up skills from his mother and later led him to establishing his brand in 2018.
“I got into the fashion industry after a particular visit to my mother and surprisingly, she gave me a hand-made polar fleece jersey she made for me and was drawn into how she put this jersey together. Years later, I started playing around with my design ideas and how to make gourmets and I have not stopped since then,” he said.
During the Fashion week, he presented a collection of 10 gender fluid garments, utilising sustainable fabrics, like denims.
“The opportunity to be able to showcase in such spaces has been a humbling experience, especially as somebody who did not go to school for this.
“It means a lot that even such respected fashion weeks can accommodate us and embrace the passion and the drive for this industry despite not having a qualification.”
Resident designer, Sibu Sithole of FDB Human store, who is no stranger to the fashion and entertainment industry returned to the Soweto fashion week – with punk rock as an inspiration.
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“The brand of Soweto Fashion Week represents Soweto and I’m a proud Sowetan, hence I keep coming back. It allows us to be ourselves and expresses our creativity authentically so.”
Sithole has been designing for years and for the past five years, he has been operating a store based in Rockville.
“Our brand resonates with people who are brave, have a strong identity, want to be seen and not want to fit in. That explains why we try to bring together very bold strong pieces. We used paint, leather, texture fabrics and very crafty laid effort on garments.”
