Fashion students are the next generation of fashion designers. So, the students who prioritise sustainability and ethics in their design thinking and garment making offer a sneak peek into a better...
Fashion
Q&A: Lucie Panis-Jones reminds us of the hands behind our textiles
Lucie Panis-Jones is a multifaceted textile designer, based in Cape Town, whose work includes artful mending and textured weaving. Growing up in many countries across the world – including Zimbabwe,...
10 South African youth fashion brands to support this Youth Day
South African youth have a long history of challenging the status quo. On 16 June 1976 – the date we now know as Youth Day – when the Apartheid government changed the primary medium of instruction...
5 Ways to responsibly rehome clothes you no longer wear
The circular fashion movement is a response to environmental, social and economic impacts of the fashion industry’s waste crisis. We now know that hundreds of thousands of tonnes of clothing end up...
Q&A: Sandi and Camila Gillman weave slowness in a world of speed
Sandi and Camila Gillman are the mother-daughter duo behind Cape Town-based textile studio, Sett & Beat. They were finalists at the Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards 2021 in the Textile Maker or...
Selling Secondhand Clothes is a Bustling Trade in Mfuleni
There is a growing number of secondhand clothing resellers and vintage stores in the formal market, as well as vendors and markets in the informal economy. We know very little about the origins of...
Q&A: Crochet designer Nthatuoa Makhapha on trusting her process and accepting the unexpected
In Sesotho, ‘Nthatuoa’ means ‘My loved one’, an apt name for this small business whose crocheted creations are intricate labours of love. NTHATUOA creates garments and accessories that allow for the...
Selling Brazilian fashion, the women of Angola’s ‘suitcase trade’ spot trends and pedal dreams
Angola, a Portuguese-speaking country, is strongly influenced by the cultural output of Brazil, the world’s Lusophone powerhouse. Brazil is often represented as a land of hope in Angola. Angolans...
The Metaverse Could be a Catalyst for Greater Change in Fashion
As an emerging player in the global fashion industry, the metaverse presents exciting opportunities for Africa provided that our foray into cyberspace is guided by the decolonial practices guiding...
Slow fashion: saving the planet with style
Each time you drag a new item of clothing into a virtual shopping basket, you may be supporting an industry responsible for 10% of global CO₂ emissions – not to mention widespread social harm. Fast...
Q&A: Rethread’s Alexa Schempers on the evolution of her circular fashion brand
Rethread has long since been a brand that Twyg has admired for the way that designer and founder, Alexa Schempers, uses waste to create unique and sustainable garments. Rethread focuses on selling...
SA Fashion Week 2022 Maps a Sustainable Way Forward
We can no longer deny the fashion industry’s role in the layered social and ecological crises playing out across the world. But, fashion also adds immense value to our lives as a medium for...
The Red Dress Threads Together Stories of Embroiderers Around the World
“As far as I know, this is the slowest dress that has ever been made. It’s a real antithesis to the fast fashion movement and instead of treating workers and artisans without respect and integrity,...
Students showcase a week-long upcycling fashion project
For Fashion Revolution Week (18-24 April 2022), students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology paused their curriculum to create an upcycled fashion collection. They were grouped together...
Q&A: Mother of Gao designer reflects on her slow, nature-inspired process
I first came across Mother of Gao on Instagram and was immediately drawn to their warm, welcoming earth tones and products that balance form and beauty while prioritising a mindful design process....