How South African Fashion Found Its Voice Post Independence

The 90s were a significant era in the history of South Africa. Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990, apartheid was abolished, and the country held its first democratic elections on 27 April 1994, which led to its first Black president, Nelson Mandela. And with that freedom came new opportunities. Miss World was held in the country in 1994, Elle magazine launched a local edition in 1996, and supermodel and philanthropist Naomi Campbell held a Versace for Africa Fashion Show in Aid of Nelson Mandela Children's Fund in 1998.

At the time, fashion was largely dominated by international brands and trends from Europe until South African Fashion Week was launched to develop a designer-led industry. Founded by Lucilla Booyzen after years of working as a model and producing fashion shows in both Europe and South Africa, South African Fashion Week launched with 17 designers in 1997, ushering in a new era for a country looking to redefine its identity. Before then, designers had largely worked and sold their garments from their studios or small boutiques. “There were a handful of designers in Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town and they all had bespoke clients,” Boozyen tells Industrie Africa.

With 11 official languages and various tribes, there’s no single style that can purely define South African fashion, it’s a mix of references of cultural heritage driven by both modernity and ancient traditions. That first showcase at SA Fashion Week presented collections from designers such as Clive Rundle, David West, and Julian whose all-white collections reflected new beginnings of both the fashion industry and the political climate. The fashion here was defined by avant-garde designs, minimalist in construction, with clean lines and some references to local culture and realities like the patchwork found in Black miners’ clothes who mended their worn-out garments in various fabrics swatches.

Early designers such as Amanda Laird Cherry and Marianne Fassler were motivated by tribal influences and nature from animal prints to Zulu culture, and Shweshwe fabric, a dyed cotton textile with intricate geometric patterns. Usually worn by Black women throughout history, as maid uniforms, the Shweshwe fabric was given a new context in designer fashion as a luxurious textile.

However, while other designers were looking into wax prints and ethnic dress, David Tlale and Thula Sindi were championing modern romanticism and luxurious clothing driven by the cosmopolitan tastes of the decade. This style was mirrored by dramatic gowns, feminine cuts, and sensual looks that appealed to affluent local and global tastes. Elsewhere, Roman Handt and De Mil were refreshing menswear with gender blurring designs of sculptural pieces exploring new shapes and forms in exciting and unusual fabrics such as high tech materials used in soundproofing and hybrid pieces of skirts and dresses for the former and elegant black lace with intricate flower motifs and cut-outs and flowing mesh gowns, layered and cut to perfection, subverting both gender and religion for the latter.

Today, South Africa’s young designers are collectively telling their stories in new ways, often rejecting stereotypical ideas of what local fashion should look like. Their cross-cultural experiences, assured approach, and modern designs have been embraced globally and represent a new generation, eager to own and share their stories with the world. Thebe Magugu and Sindiso Khumalo are driven by political storytelling that delves into history while Lukhanyo Mdingi is motivated by conscious and timeless design, using exceptional fabrics like homegrown mohair. “On a global scale our designers are incredibly talented,” chief executive of PR firm Imprint Luxury and Fashion Revolution South Africa coordinator, Cyril Naicker, tells Industrie Africa. “Technology has changed and it's given designers incredible opportunities to design stuff with unique things,” he continues.

Other local designers redefining the ‘South African aesthetic’ include genderless label Rich Mnisi whose designs borrow from the vivid colors of his Vatsonga heritage and design duo MmusoMaxwell, with their refreshed tailoring for women, that drapes and wraps the body in panels and pleats. With the world unifying to amplify voices of minorities around the world, South Africa, with its level of talent, high-level craftsmanship, rich history, and the spotlight brought by designers such as Thebe Magugu and Sindiso Khumalo, the future of fashion looks bright.