The Business of Fashion

When: 14 – 15 MARCH 2008

Where: MUSEUM AFRICA, NEWTOWN, JOZI, MZANSI

In the day since Sanlam South African Fashion Week has started, observers of South African fashion (and those whose favourite past time is making comparisons between the different fashion weeks), have already scoped the difference between Audi Joburg Fashion Week and Sanlam SA Fashion Week. The former is more about glitz, glam and fabulousness (and there’s nothing wrong with that) and the other is less glamorous but definitely a more powerful platform in the empowering and educating young designers on the  Business Of Fashion.

The Arts and Culture Seminar, hosted in conjunction with the Arts and Culture Department of South Africa was the prelude to the collections showcasing in the evenings. The premise behind such investment in fashion is, as Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture, Ntombazana Botha stated, because ‘fashion in South Africa is more than art and business, it has revitalized our heritage diversity, catalysed the restoration of pride in ourselves and reinforced our national identity.’

At the seminar, leaders in industry, fashion, business, trend analysis were invited to talk to young designers, entrepreneurs, students and media on various topics. 

Here are some of the ones we enjoyed the most:

DION CHANG

The first speaker of the day was Dion Chang, one of South Africa’s most prolific and forward-thinking fashion and lifestyle columnists, trend analyst and observer. His chosen subject was about anchoring your brand in a sea of fickle consumers. He contextualized the reason why the market is so fickle, touching on reasons like technology, access to a global village and freedom of choice. Consumers have too much information and too much choice therefore, the temptation to change their minds, sway this way and that is an ever present one across most aspects of their lives. To stand out from the crowds, brands need to have a clear differentiation from their competitors, a distinct brand persona and the ability to adapt and evolve while still using their brand ethos as their anchor.

HOW BIG BRANDS ARE BORN

Brands that have changed the way we think, experience fashion and consume products included Chanel – a brand born out of the frustration (from Ms Chanel) of male designers dictating the way women dressed. Chanel was one of the first designers to make a skirt out of jersey knit, because she wanted to be able to run and catch the train. She was also one of the first designers to make and wear pants for women and be seen smoking in public. By breaking all the rules that had been made until then, she started a social revolution.

Post WWII, the world was in depression, with the fashion industry being amongst the hardest hit, resulting in the rationing of fabrics. Enter Christian Dior, who created a new look by bucking the trend to use as a little fabric as possible and made volumous skirts with reams of fabric, pinched at the waist. This controversial decision made Dior stand out from the crowd and started its journey to the iconic brand it is today. In South Africa, brands that challenged the status quo included Sun Goddess – which used fashion as an ideology to entrench our traditional identities. It came at a time, just after apartheid when people where searching for something that represented them in an authentic way. By using socio-political references, Stoned Cherrie intensified the national patriotism on the streets post the country’s first democratic election. On the opposite scale, Darkie (a derogatory term which refers to black people) used cultural subversion, turning a negative implication on its head and making a social commentary on the state of South Africa, through his clothing. More importantly, Chang stated was that brands needed to have timing, context, social relevance and an audience that was ready to receive them.

LILAC OSANJO

From the School of Arts and Design at the University of Nairobi, Lilac Osanjo spoke about Turning an Idea into an Enterprise. An idea existed in the mind and was influenced by experience, stories, culture, frame of references. The difference between an idea and a great idea was that the latter were fresh, unique and memorable. Something you could ‘feel’ without explanation.  Ideas remained just that until someone saw a need for them  – people don’t buy products, they buy solutions. More importantly, ideas and products were not enterprises until there was a market for them, someone who is willing to pay for what you’re producing at the price you’re charging. She gave practical insight and information into protecting your ideas (sometimes competition is good – when someone copies you, it’s a backward compliment – and also a sign that you need to innovate and move on); the design life cycle from innovation to replacement and how to enterprise yourself and your enterprise through self-knowledge and self-realization.

FERIAL HAFFAJEE

After hearing her speak, I’ve decided that the only way I’m going to vote is if she’s running for president. Editor of the Mail & Guardian, one of South Africa’s leading newspapers spoke to us on the socio-politics of South Africa. Her subject line? “Where have our doo-be-doo days gone? a references to a popular song by SA’s favourite ‘rainbow nation’ band, Freshlyground.

A year ago, she said, South Africa was in her prime. Business was booming, the political situation was stable, fashion was innovative and thriving and onto 2010 it was.  Then things changed. In the wake of his dismissal as deputy president of the country, having the charges of his rape case dropped, the pending status of his corruption affiliation and trials, Jacob Zuma was slowly plotting his revenge campaign, which reached its height at the ANC conference in Polokwane last December, where in a shocking turn of events (my words) he was voted as the president of the ANC, putting him in a very good stead to become the country’s next president.

The appointment of Zuma was indicative of  where South Africans are right now. Disenfranchised by the detachment and elitist leadership of Thabo Mbeki; the ever-widening wealth gap (South Africa has the highest wealth gap in the world, even higher than Brazil), South Africans, more significantly, the masses at the bottom of the pyramid,  needed a saviour – someone who was more in touch and could relate to them. Zuma, the candidate who comes from humble beginning and is able to level with the crowds (‘delivery takes time’) was that. South Africa was now marked by the ‘Mshini wam’ (my machine) days. This fallic symbol song was Zuma’s victory song during and after his rape trial. At this point, Haffajee played Pot Belly, another Freshlyground tune, poking fun at Mr Zuma’s many marriages. But, she asked – was his charisma and popularity enough to get South Africa out of the red zone she now found herself? The country, for all its democratic glory wasn’t being governed and what it needed was a leader who could solve its massive health, crime and education problems; not a moment for radical, political experimentation like communism.  Question is: does Zuma have the capacity to deliver this? Just as we were bursting into tears (literally) at the demise of our beautiful country, Haffajee turned hopeful. ‘We matter…because we(post-1994) turned adversity into fortune. Ultimately, the longevity of our democracy doesn’t depend on who our leader is. It depends on you and me.’ Amen to that.

Read the coverage of Sanlam South African Fashion Week here –> http://www.fashionafrica.com/features/sanlam-south-africa-fashion-week-day-one/ . Pictures to follow soon!

- Lelethu L.