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 musicians to whom 10% of the profits of this collection will be donated.We asked founder Daniel Sher to tell us more about Good Good Good, the collaboration and The Hope Collection.

Tell us briefly about the background to your brand.

I have been fascinated with streetwear, good quality garments, and fashion brands for as long as I can remember. In the last 10 years, I became deeply fascinated with the culture surrounding streetwear, and the cultural and social statements that one can make with a well-executed graphic T-Shirt. Good Good Good was started with the intention of creating a South African brand of basics for men of all sizes. Initially, the South African market was the target audience, and the aim was to provide a locally manufactured, higher quality option than the basics available at fast fashion brands. But we soon realised that we didn’t have the marketing expenditure or knowledge to reach our intended audiences. Deep down, I know that solving the problem of providing South African made, quality basics coupled with functional expressive fashion pieces is the main reason for my wanting to create the brand and turn it into a business.

What is the inspiration behind the SS21 collection?

I began designing the collection during level five of the national COVID-19 lockdown – during which we weren’t allowed to manufacture. I wanted to find a way of bringing the South African landscape I missed so much, into my two-bedroom inner-city apartment. The garments were designed for lockdown comfortability, aka lounging about, but I hoped, as we all do, that we’d be able to explore the world again and celebrate life together. So the clothes are durable for outdoor activities and most importantly presentable enough for social occasions. Lastly, with my growing interest in being part of building a sustainable apparel industry in South Africa, I decided to only use locally milled fabrics – to support our economy, cut back our carbon footprint and lessen our negative impact on the environment.

What is the motivation behind naming your designs after natural sources and nature reserves?

Each colourway was chosen as they reminded me of different parts of my life and travels in South Africa. As an ode to the natural world, the colourways within the Hope collection are named after natural resources and Southern African nature reserves [Orange River, Sandstone, Cape Point, Kelp Forest, Nature’s Valley and Namaqua]. Nature is our home, it inspires us, it feeds us, it deserves a little credit.

From where did you source your materials for this collection and why?

The materials were all sourced from the Mungo mill in Plettenberg Bay. Our clothes are made for pre-order so that we don’t overproduce them, but some of the first garments are made from deadstock that I bought on sale. I was inspired to completely localise Good Good Good’s sourcing process for the Hope collection, as I recognised that not only does localised sourcing reduce carbon emissions, it directly feeds into creating a more financially sustainable Southern African economy.

Your designs are full of life with bold and lively colours. What inspires the colours?

I wear a lot of black clothing, but I feel that my bold and colourful design aesthetic reflects my interest in and curiosity of all things. I like to consider myself as an open-hearted and open-minded person, and I hope my designs reflect those values.

Tell us about your signature style and does your signature style evolve with time?

Boxy shapes, fucking comfortable to wear and always sprinkled with a touch of humour. Vibrancy has definitely been added to the mix in more recent years. We’re known for our basic cotton T-shirt and workwear silhouettes, which are both heavily inspired by street culture. The workwear silhouette has evolved over time, but we feel they are both contemporary enough for the present and classic enough to be a part of their owner’s life for years to come.

Why orchestra and nature? What story are you telling with the scenery?

The pandemic highlighted the injustices and flaws of the systems we live in, which drove me and director Jared Figgins to align this collection and visual project with Good Good Good’s Commitment to Change. By collaborating with young South African musicians from the CPYO, the collection pays homage to our brand’s commitment to becoming an agent for transformative social change within the South African clothing industry. There is something to be said about collaborating with young musicians and having them play music in nature. I think subconsciously I thought about what world I’d like my newborn son to grow up in, how we’re borrowing this earth from future generations. My hope is that when he is an adult there will still be an earth as green and lush as displayed in the film, or even greener.

What role does your brand play in pushing sustainability and ethical practices in the country?

Right now it’s pretty simple, we try our best where we can to not fuck over other people. We sustain the livelihoods of South African people in every part of our manufacturing process – we manufacture in our 25-year-old heirloom factory in Maitland, Cape Town, and we source all of our cottons and chenilles from local mills. We significantly reduce our carbon footprint by sourcing our textiles locally. We help other local brands manufacture their products, so they can benefit from the resources we have. We try and be as transparent as we can about where we source because to us, the more brands implementing low-impact and ethical practices the better. We also support a number of local organisations through various fundraising campaigns, such as the CPYO, Food Flow and the Woodstock Upliftment Project. Mainly, we try to create garments that people will buy because it makes them feel good and it just so happens that it’s made in an ethical and low-impact way.

Besides your fabric choices, what other sustainable practices do you apply to your business?

We’re currently transitioning and making better choices where we can. But currently, our off-cuts are saved for future collections and other projects, like our tote packaging for our flagship store Duck Duck Goose. Our T-shirt cotton goes to Rewoven to be recycled. We have LED lights. This is a journey, and we’re constantly looking for ways to improve our systems to be more responsible, sustainable and ethical. (Any suggestions are welcome! Drop us a mail: info@goodgoodgood.co.za)

What collection are you most proud of?

Definitely, SS20 and the SS21 collections are the two that I am most proud of.

What have you learnt from Covid-19 about the fashion industry and how it’s structured?

How reliant most of the fashion industry is on travel, how those travel routes of resources are extremely colonial. But it also highlighted even more for me that South Africa has the resources to support its own fashion industry, we just need to invest in it more.

CREDITS

To find out more visit Good Good Good.