After graduating from Cape Peninsula University of Technology in 2015, U.Be.You founder and designer Ulfah Davids worked for a local streetwear brand. Known as the first lady of TWOBOP, she became the creative director of the brand after just three months. During her...
Q&A: Alexa Schempers uses waste as resource for her fashion brand Rethread
Alexa Schempers launched her sustainable fashion brand, Rethread, while she was studying in The Netherlands. The brand focusses on selling three categories of clothing: redesigned (upcycled), sustainably-made and pre-loved garments. The website states that Alexa...
Q&A: BOYDE’s creative director gives us the lowdown on his award-winning work
Three years after he launched his menswear brand, Joburg-based designer Samkelo “Boyde” Xaba won South African Fashion Week’s Scouting Menswear Competition. His 2020 winning collection, in accordance with the judging criteria, illustrates that the designer reduces...
Q&A: Luke Radloff of UNI FORM considers the future in his design decisions
Creative director Luke Radloff had been honing his skills for several years before founding the South African fashion label UNÍ FORM two years ago. As creative director of his brand, he combines the contemporary with the familiar, drawing references from its location,...
Q&A: Daniel Sher presents the new Good Good Good Collection
Cape Town fashion brand Good Good Good launched its SS21 collection with the film An Orchestra in an Open Field directed by Jarred Figgins. Through its partnership with the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Good Good Good is offering its support to the emerging...
Q&A: Eleazer Radebe of By Ele presents a new collection to soothe our souls
Designer Eleazer Radebe started his working life as a researcher in HIV / AIDS. It was another 10 years before he launched into fashion in 2012. While he wants to focus on natural fibres, sustainable fabrics are expensive in South Africa, and for many designers they...
Q&A: Sabine Matsheka says the natural elements are the soul of MARU
Sabine Matsheka makes clothes that make sense for a desert climate. She writes on her website that MARU is “inspired by life beneath the clouds, in the sun-baked Kalahari Desert, quenched by the wealth of the Okavango Delta. Elements of nature are central to the soul...
Q&A: iFele founder Reggie Xaba has given a traditional sandal a new look
Using shoes as his medium of expression, Reggie Xaba has interpreted a traditional shoe, applying modern materials to make a contemporary item. Born in Durban, he grew up in Umlazi township and graduated in clothing design from the Natal Technikon (which is now Durban...
Q&A: Michael Reid talks to us about his unisex brand Xavier Sadan
Xavier Sadan crept into our world when we noticed it after it was shortlisted for the SAFW Scouting Menswear Competition 2020. We weren't the only ones to notice the work of designer Michael Reid. The collection The Circle of Life, an artisanal collection, which was...
Q&A: Zizipho Ntobongwana on how her film ‘Indlela Yethu’ decolonises sustainability
According to Zizipho Ntobongwana’s instagram bio she is decolonising sustainability. Not only is she an entrepreneur with a business that produces 100% organic cotton and biodegradable menstrual products, she is a creative director and a film producer. Last year her...