NU ERA - twyg

For Youth Day, Twyg fashion director Tandekile Mkize created NU ERA a fashion editorial to celebrate a new era of care and community. We spoke to the designers who are featured in the shoot to find out how they are using their design ethos and storytelling to create a hopeful future. Words: Stella Hertantyo. Photographs: Keith Dliwayo

We always say that the future lies in the hands of the youth. And so does the future of fashion. For too long, fashion’s rule book has prioritised profit. Ecosystems are ignored and people are ignored. But the youth are rewriting fashion’s rules – reminding us that the status quo is no longer good enough. Armed with gentle, radical ideas, and moved by the urgent need to slow down, this generation is showing us what it means to merge creativity and care while fashioning a new future.

The youth are taking the future into their hands, one slow stitch at a time. A NU ERA is here.

Samantha and Nana wear Vuntu dress and trousers, and Loveland knitwear

Left: Samantha wears a Fashion Student Archive dress | Right: Deylin and Nana wear Fashion Student Archive

Deylin wears a Bash Studio pullover and trousers and a Klein Muis upcycled pleated skirt

Left: Deylin wears The Artfits’ Complex Suit | Right: Samantha wears a Bash Studio crop jacket, AFROGRUNGE upcycled trousers and corset as collar detail

Samantha, Nana and Deylin wear Nehemiah Project 2021

In honour of Youth Day in South Africa, NU ERA celebrates the power of youth collaboration and highlights garments from local, Gen Z designers (born in 1997 and after) who are reshaping the future of the South African fashion landscape and re-configuring design codes. Through upcycling, natural fibres, and timeless tailoring, these designers are redefining limits, and making sustainable fashion aspirational.

Shifting fashion aspirations means telling new stories. “I’m a storyteller and I’ve always found it difficult to develop a design if it’s not rooted in its own story or concept. I’ve always believed that good design means something, answers a question, and fulfils a narrative. That remains the starting point for me, always,” says Aidan Peters of Klein Muis.

“I understand that I have a responsibility to design ethically and for longevity, because fashion is more than just clothing – it’s also about the people who wear the clothes and the people who make them,” says Megan Art. Megan, founder of Artfits, chooses to design using only pre-loved fabrics.

Founder of Fashion Student’s Archive Maryam Agherdien’s approach to challenging the status quo is by creating time-consuming investment pieces. “The amount of time, consideration, and effort I put into each design means that the clothes I create are not made for the fast fashion world. I believe that clothing is an investment and, like any other investment, it requires intention and time to become beautiful, last years, and be loved perpetually.” Maryam practices care in a careless fashion system.

Beyond the fabrication, re-imagining fashion means creating opportunities for inclusion in a historically exclusive industry. “I hope people can connect with what I do and find themselves in my work,” says Anita Hlazo, founder of AFROGRUNGE. Anita wants young people of colour and non-able-bodied people to explore different styles and subcultures without feeling misrepresented.

“Youth Day is also a reminder that as a collective, as the youth, we have the power to change the trajectory of our country. We can take initiative and create the future we want,” says Amanda Trom, founder of Vuntu. In fashion, Amanda is doing this by creating designs that challenge consumers’ perspectives of sustainable fashion. With her refined upcycled designs, she is showing us that sustainable fashion is much more than a singular aesthetic.

“Being a young person in the creative industry, in the present moment, is challenging. But it’s also really encouraging that there are more opportunities for people of colour than there were in the past, and that young people are being supportive of each other even when the older generation doesn’t trust our visions,” say Tarryn Tippens, founder of Loveland. For Tarryn, sustainable fashion is about caring for each other, and Youth Day means community. Care and community, the two words that go hand-in-hand and are reflected in her made-to-order, inclusive knitwear.

Care and community extend to paying homage to personal heritage too.

“Youth Day is a reminder that is time to chime for my freedom, to pursue my creative vision without borders, shape how we interpret our lives freely without being policed, and reclaim my history across the digital and real world,” says Sebastian Kydd, founder of Bash Studio.

“The significance of Youth Day acts as a North Star for us as young people to stand together and fight against injustice. The youth of 1976 were fighting an oppressive regime and we can find mirrors of this regime in our present moment too. Youth Day is a glaring reminder of the need to continue the fight, to continue the good work, and continue to value one another and the voice of the youth,” says Thabiso Musi, founder of The Nehemiah Project.

Finding ways to represent, uplift, celebrate, and support the visions of young people is a dual ambition when we reflect both on Youth Day and on the need to fashion a new future. It’s time to embrace this NU ERA.

“Youth Day represents resilience. There is resilience in imagination, in being inquisitive, in hope,” says Aidan.”