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Be inspired to mend and care at the Slow Fashion Festival in Johannesburg

by | Apr 10, 2024

Twyg and 44 Stanley Avenue are bringing the Slow Fashion Festival to Johannesburg on Saturday, 20 April. Join us for a day of experiences, including learning different arts of mending, swapping preloved clothes, watching the film Fashion Reimagined, and more. During Fashion Revolution Week and before Earth Day, the Slow Fashion Festival will leave you inspired to continue your sustainable fashion journey, armed with helpful information, usable skills and a new life for the clothes you own.

The Slow Fashion Festival takes place at 44 Stanley Avenue, Johannesburg from 10.00am to 4.00pm.

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Taking care of the items you already own is an act of love for the planet and the people who made them. By mending items we give them a new life, saving them from the landfill and learning a new skill while doing so. Several brands who are dedicated to slow, considered fashion will be at the Slow Fashion Festival and on hand to teach and inspire the art of repair or, for those who are less nimble with a needle, they can offer to do the job for you. Below is the list of activities for the day:

Mend

Join the Slow Fashion Festival on 20 April

Rejuvenate your ROWDY products
1.00pm- 3.00pm at ROWDY
ROWDY produces beautiful leather bags made using premium grade, free-range and full-grain leather sourced from their specialist tannery in Namibia. Each bag comes with a lifetime guarantee, showing the brand’s commitment to mindful buying and quality craftsmanship. Attendees are invited to bring their ROWDY bags and accessories in for a free rejuvenating treatment at the festival. Read more about Rowdy here.

Repair a special shirt with Five8ths
All-day at Five8ths
Five8ths serves the growing group of consumers who want a small but considered wardrobe of high-quality, fitted garments that are worn more often. The team consider garment making an art form, using fine sewing techniques to create bespoke clothing. Do you have a special shirt that’s showing a little wear and tear? Rather than replacing it with something new, take advantage of Five8ths collar and cuff replacement service. Prices will vary depending on the fabric used and the custom work required. Read more about Five8ths here.

King Cobbler will be on hand to repair shoes
All-day at IFUKU
For 40 years the family-run King Cobbler has been extending the lifespan of leather shoes and accessories. If you have a pair of shoes that need repairing, bring them along. Read more about King Cobbler here.

Join Fashion Revolution’s global Mend In Public Day
All-day anywhere and at Path Nomad
Stitch in protest against disposable fashion: Bring your slightly worn but still-loved pieces, so that you can repair them with us. Need some help with mending or do not have any mending equipment? Head to the Patch & Stitch table at Path Nomad where you can get resources and expert help from Collen Shoko. Find out more about Fashion Revolution here.

Learn

Join the Slow Fashion Festival on 20 April

Mending knitwear with Hannelie Bekker
1:30pm – 2:30pm at Path Nomad
Hannelie is the founder of Wrapt, a knit studio that prioritises the livelihoods of its knitters, a waste-free production process, and working with natural, bio-degradable yarn. Bring your knitwear mending and learn the art of visible mending at this artisanal knitter’s workshop.

Upcycle with Patch &Stitch
12:00pm – 1:00pm at Path Nomad
Following the success of at recent Twyg Swap&Mend in Cape Town, Collen from Patch&Stitch will be leading a demonstration on upcycling. Watch and learn as the alteration expert gives an old jacket new life and offers advice on mending. Follow Patch&Stitch here.

Restore your denim pieces
1:30pm – 2:30pm at IFUKU
Denim lovers IFUKU and Blue Canvas will be providing a menu of services, including cleaning, repair, patching and customisation to extend the life of your precious denim pieces. There will also be a showcase by All and Sundry Custom and Sonia Tona, of sashiko, an ancient Japanese mending technique that is as decorative as it is functional. Read about IFUKU here. 

Track the journey of South African objects
2:30pm – 3:30pm at Path Nomad
Dr Erica de Greef is a curator, author and co-founder of the African Fashion Research Institute. She will be taking us on a short visual journey of some upcycled objects found in South Africa’s local cultural museums, and seen in contemporary craft traditions. Read about AFRI here.

Swap

Join the Slow Fashion Festival on 20 April

Take part in the Twyg Swap&Mend
All-day opposite Path Nomad
Bring up to 10 items from your wardrobe that are clean and in good condition and keep them in circulation through our swap station. After donating your items in return for tokens, you can shop from our preloved library, contributing to the system of responsibly rehoming items.

Trade a tee
All-day at Limited Edish
Limited Edish produces T-shirts primarily on a pre-order basis, reducing waste and ensuring customers get pieces they will really treasure. Inspired by his time spent touring and collecting T-shirts as mementos of his travels, Russel Grant invites attendees to bring in a good quality T-shirt that you no longer wear to trade for someone else’s beloved tee. Read more about Limited Edish here.

Discover

Join the Slow Fashion Festival on 20 April

Watch an eye-opening fashion documentary
10:00am – 11:40am at Bioscope
44 Stanley is hosting a screening of Fashion Reimagined, the acclaimed documentary following a UK designer’s mission to create a truly sustainable fashion collection, from field to finished garment. Amy Powney received the Vogue award for the Best Young Designer of the Year and used the cash prize in a way no designer had before. Read about the film here. Buy your tickets here.

Visit local makers committed to slow fashion
All-day
GUILLOTINE by Lisa Jaffe produces small batch runs, creates timeless trans-seasonal high-quality pieces and repurposes fabric offcuts to create their accessories. The store is inviting customers to pop in wearing their beloved GUILLOTINE garment to enjoy a glass of bubbly and a photo opportunity. Then check out Crystal Birch’s new Johannesburg store to see how she has revived the art of hat millinery. REEFER, the 2023 winner of the Footwear Award at Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards will open its doors for visitors to learn about their manufacturing process, use of materials like hemp and cork and their zero waste production process.

The launch of Loved Lunar
12:00pm – 1:00pm at Lunar
Lunar creates clothes that are intended to last forever, but also recognises that tastes and bodies change. The store will be launching Loved Lunar, a pre-loved rail where customers will be able to sell their previously owned items on a consignment basis at the Lunar store. To celebrate this initiative customers will receive a 10% discount all day. Read about Lunar here.

 

  • Book your Twyg Swap&Mend tickets now
  • Photography by A Gorman Photography. Taken at Twyg Swap&Mend on 24 March in Cape Town
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