<p>As Cape Town basked in the glory of being named the World Design Capital 2014, the words ‘design, creativity and innovation’ rang loud at this year’s Design Indaba held in the popular Western Cape city. The annual conference focused on how these elements can positively impact the world.</p>
<div id="attachment_6172" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-6172" class="size-medium wp-image-6172" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2014-Apr-May-060-063-FSH-Design-ind-001-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /><p id="caption-attachment-6172" class="wp-caption-text">Shweta Wahi</p></div>
<p>It was an early March weekend of fun and discovery for the creatives, artists, designers, hipsters – and ordinary folks – who made their way to the Cape Town International Conference Centre (CTICC). There were 500 exhibitors, from Mikhela Hawker, who makes lampshades from recycled plastic bottles to others, such as Galago, which designs and tailor-makes leather sandals on the spot, in less than 15 minutes.</p>
<p>Part of the event was a three-day conference on creativity, which included talks by some of the world’s top entrepreneurs, creative minds and trendsetters, such as computer scientist Juliana Rotich from non-profit tech company Ushahidi, Ivorian architect Issa Diabaté, and South African photographer David Goldblatt. Tickets sold out quickly and for those who could not attend, the conference was simultaneously broadcast across four South African cities.</p>
<div id="attachment_6160" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-6160" class="size-medium wp-image-6160" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2014-Apr-May-060-063-FSH-Design-ind-007-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /><p id="caption-attachment-6160" class="wp-caption-text">Kathrin Kidger</p></div>
<p>The Design Indaba is a platform for exhibitors to showcase their products to consumers and industry buyers. Hearing the story behind the conceptualization, design and creation of a product directly from the people who make them, also helps drive sales.</p>
<p>One designer present at the event was Susan Slee, the owner of Maneki and creator of Mannetjie van Staal – meaning ‘little men of steel’ in Afrikaans. This former goldsmith and jewelry designer displayed an ethnic and animal-themed range of cutlery. Her fascination with the simplicity and quirkiness of children’s drawings led to the creation of the van Staal family. Her stainless steel cutlery range features six characters, each with a name and story. The range has since expanded to wood, carved by Zimbabwean artist Nathan Kenias.</p>
<div id="attachment_6167" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-6167" class="size-medium wp-image-6167" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2014-Apr-May-060-063-FSH-Design-ind-014-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /><p id="caption-attachment-6167" class="wp-caption-text">Kathrin Kidger</p></div>
<p>Yet another participant was Palesa Litha, an emerging designer who studied music before moving on to jewelry design. Her 2014 range, manufactured at an incubator in Rustenburg in the North West province of South Africa, explores the parallels between music and design.</p>
<p>The showcased designers were required to have at least two years’ experience in retail and had to have attended various workshops throughout the year, encompassing everything from costing and retail management to media training. Ten of these designers will now  go on to be a part of the South African collective at international trade fairs in in 2014 and 2015.</p>
<p>The Cape Town Fashion Council (CTFC) booked a R1-million ($93,722) space – the largest at the expo – to showcase 40 emerging and established designers. The CTFC develops entrepreneurship among designers and wants to shift fashion away from being about aesthetics towards embracing a sustainable business model.</p>
<div id="attachment_6170" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-6170" class="size-medium wp-image-6170" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2014-Apr-May-060-063-FSH-Design-ind-018-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /><p id="caption-attachment-6170" class="wp-caption-text">Shweta Wahi</p></div>
<p>Bryan Ramkilawan, Chief Executive Officer of the CTFC, is working on partnerships across Africa and wants to share intellectual property to get the local and African design industry to where it should be.</p>
<p>South African consumers are starting to pay more attention to local rather than international designs, says Ramkilawan. Three days of sales at the pop-up stores totaled R1.1 million ($103,116), this excluded buyer sales estimated at R2.5 million ($234,327). All the money from the sales went to the designers.</p>
<p>Whether it is fashion, décor, music or art, be sure to head to this year’s World Design Capital. In the words of Ramkilawan, “design is a way of life”.</p>
<p>What design means to them</p>
<h6>Shweta Wahi,</h6>
<h6>Fashion Designer</h6>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-6163" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2014-Apr-May-060-063-FSH-Design-ind-010-201x300.jpg" alt="" width="201" height="300" /></p>
<p>“Design to me, is all about exploring the creative tidbits from my childhood, what&#8217;s in front of me right now, the colors I see, the people I meet, the way a piece of fabric falls on the body, the way it feels &#8211; it’s a matter of perfecting how it feels and looks to express myself and tell my story.”</p>
<h6>David Tlale, Fashion Designer</h6>
<div id="attachment_6164" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-6164" class="size-medium wp-image-6164" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2014-Apr-May-060-063-FSH-Design-ind-011-300x214.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="214" /><p id="caption-attachment-6164" class="wp-caption-text">Fashion designer David Tlale at his Sandton store; Johannesburg, 1 November 2011 &#8211; Photo by Brett Eloff.</p></div>
<p>“Design means innovation, it means evolving, it means moving forward, it means how you reinterpret what has already been done.”</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h6>Jeanne van den Heever, Product Designer</h6>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-6166" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2014-Apr-May-060-063-FSH-Design-ind-013-201x300.jpg" alt="" width="201" height="300" /></p>
<p>“It means coming up with something creative, especially if you can add function to that in styling.”</p>
<h6>Palesa Litha, Designer</h6>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-6165" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2014-Apr-May-060-063-FSH-Design-ind-012-201x300.jpg" alt="" width="201" height="300" /></p>
<p>“It is a different way of thinking. It’s science, it’s philosophy and it’s a way of living.”</p>
<h6>Weaving Cultures</h6>
<h6>Elbé Coetsee brought rural appeal to urban folk at the Design Indaba</h6>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-6162" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2014-Apr-May-060-063-FSH-Design-ind-009-201x300.jpg" alt="" width="201" height="300" /></p>
<p>In the late eighties, Elbé Coetsee and her husband moved to a game farm in rural Limpopo, South Africa. Based 15 kilometers from Botswana and 18 kilometers from Zimbabwe, Coetsee often encountered women who were looking for work even as their husbands toiled away on the roads and farms. Coetsee took up the role of mentor, teaching the women to weave, embroider, bead, make candles and paint. This provided a great platform to exchange cultures.</p>
<p>“It’s a wonderful experience to be able to learn from them and share some of my culture with them. I really think it’s about bridging gaps and having an understanding for another’s culture.”</p>
<p>Soon the orders came rolling in. In 1994, Coetsee registered the company under Mogalakwena Craft Art Development Foundation, named after one of the main rivers in Limpopo; Mogalakwena, meaning fierce crocodile.</p>
<p>Twenty years on, the company has grown to 20 employees who handcraft dainty table linen, placemats, table cloths, serviettes and scatter cushions, distributed and sold throughout South Africa. Although living rural comes with its challenges, such as being in remote areas away from the trappings of the city, not to mention traveling on dust roads, Coetsee says being surrounded and inspired by nature brings her a joy she cannot describe. Coetsee says the Design Indaba allowed her to showcase her work to an audience that would otherwise not have been able to see it. “It was our most successful Design Indaba,” she says.</p>
<h6>Micro-mini</h6>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-6161" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FWA-2014-Apr-May-060-063-FSH-Design-ind-008-300x201.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="201" /></p>
<p>The Design Indaba also got to the heart of objects, and how. The ‘color one’ installation for Mini, by Scholten &amp; Baijings from Amsterdam, dissected the design and composition of a Mini One car. The car manufacturer also displayed the Mini Connected system’s Dynamic Music function, a feature that adjusts the rhythm of music according to the drivers&#8217; driving style. The faster one drives, the louder the music. Attendees at the event could create their own remixes on the Mini dance floor, which was equipped with motion sensors.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Africa By Design

<p>If you’ve been living under a rock be sure to emerge and catch up because Africa is in vogue.</p>
<p>As far back as 2009, the world’s top designers couldn’t help making inspired references to what was once called the Dark Continent. The likes of Marc Jacobs and John Galliano have paid homage to Africa’s intricate beauty. Well renowned international designer Vivienne Westwood, exhibited her interest in Africa through her Ethical Fashion Africa Collection. Other Labels bitten by the Africa bug have been Burberry, Gwen Stefani’s LAMB and Tommy Hilfiger.</p>
<p>Arise Magazine’s African Icons show at last month’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York featured designs by Gavin Rajah, Ozwald Boateng, Folake Folarin (Tiffany Amber), Tsemaye Binitie and Amaka Osakwe (Maki Oh).</p>
<p>At the Arise Magazine Fashion Week in Lagos, Boateng was handed the Lifetime Achievement award and labels KLuK CGDT and Maki Oh won best designer.</p>
<p>It’s gone beyond Africans inspiring international designers, to African designers sharing their own history and creativity.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1304" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/A-Deola-Sagoe-creation-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></p>
<p>Nigerian Designer, Lisa Folawiyo, studied law at the University of Nigeria and followed her dream when she started Jewel by Lisa from home in 2005. She redefined the way one could wear Ankara—a colorful wax resist dyed fabric—and makes handcrafted clothes that take an average of 120 hours, using custom made prints.</p>
<p>Nigerian fashion is moving away from the local markets with their rows of fabric stalls and corner tailors.</p>
<p>Folawiyo has exhibited in Johannesburg, London, Paris and New York. To increase her appeal and market, Folawiyo launched a diffusion line, The J Label, in 2011. The pieces emulate the luxury core of her designs but are a more practical and accessible option. The new label offers anything from trousers and handbags to dresses. While the main label ranges from $350-$11,500, the diffusion line ranges from $150-$350.</p>
<p>In South Africa, and further afield, the name Gavin Rajah is synonymous with style, opulence and glamor. He is a true example of an African designer turned international sensation. Rajah’s fashion is inspiring, his shows are mesmerizing and it’s no wonder he’s dressed people like Beyonce, Nelson Mandela, Tom Cruise, Naomi Campbell among others. As if this were not enough, Rajah has even delved into jewelry design.</p>
<p>Taking fashion beyond just designs, Rajah wrote a paper titled “Creating an Identity in Design: South Africa the future of fashion?”, which reached as far as Milan. A founder of the Cape Town Fashion Week, Rajah, is serious about the industry and its sustainability in the country. He’s made a point of employing and mentoring young designers in his Cape Town studio and sits on the Cape Town Fashion Council board.</p>
<p>From UNICEF Ambassador to design extraordinaire, Rajah sees no limit for his brand.</p>
<p>The most stylish first lady of the United States, since Jackie Kennedy Onassis, is a big fan of Nigerian Duro Olowu. Michelle Obama has worn the designer’s garments on many occasions. Quitting law was the best thing Olowu could have done for the fashion world. The courtroom’s loss has evidently been the runway’s gain. Olowu’s love for art goes beyond fashion and makes for interesting collections; all that creativity makes it hard to imagine him wanting to succeed in any profession but this one. His career was catapulted when he won the New Designer of the Year award at the 2005 British Fashion Awards. Now his clothes can be found online and in stores in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.</p>
<p>“My job is not about dictating to women what they should wear, it’s about presenting them with beautiful options,” Olowu once told The Independent in London.</p>
<p>Deola Sagoe is a talented and beautiful mother of three, whose clothes have been modeled by supermodels Naomi Campbell and Alek Wek. Her daughters have fashion in their blood as they have launched their own fashion label CLAN. Sagoe went to college in the United States and has a Master’s in finance and management. She will showcase her new range at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa being held in Johannesburg at the end of this month.</p>
<p>Describing the Deola Sagoe woman, the designer says: “She is colorful—she uses color to mirror her mood. She is vital—energetic—not the shy, retiring, type, but she also knows the appropriate time to hold her peace.”</p>
<p>The final feather on the African cap is Tiffany Amber’s Folake Folarin-Coker, another Nigerian who did not study fashion and escaped the legal world. Folarin-Coker has a degree in Petroleum law and spent her childhood in Europe. The label launched in 1998 but she made history when she became the first African-based designer to showcase at New York Fashion Week for two consecutive seasons, in 2008 and 2009.</p>
<p>Tiffany Amber has an online shop as well as three stores in Lagos. The brand had grown by adding two more lines and winning Arise Magazine’s Fashion Brand of the Year award for the Autumn/Winter 2011 collection.</p>
<p>With designers such as these, it’s no surprise African designers are taking the industry by storm and inspiring plenty. This is just the beginning as there are many budding designers.</p>
<p>Nina Baksmaty’s Koshie O label is gorgeous. The Ghanaian designer established a workshop in Ghana and her work has attracted the likes of Franca Sozzanni and Roberto Cavalli on their visit to West Africa. She has also brought in American singers Mỳa and Michele Williams for one of her campaigns.</p>
<p>Osakwe’s Maki Oh line is definitely on the right track. Her age has not hindered her will to take on the world fashion. Although she grew up in London, the Nigerian designer returned to her country of birth to start her fashion line. Her inclusion in the New York Fashion Week will only solidify her place as a young designer to watch. She brings her age and fun to her designs and shows that sometime the “now generation” is a little old school. Osakwe uses adire, which is a process of indigo dying cloth using natural indigo leaves as opposed to industrial dye. This is commonly done by Yoruba women in southwestern Nigeria. She says it takes a day to hand paint five meters of fabric and another day to dye and de-wax it.</p>
<p>Osakwe says her latest collection is inspired by secrets and people’s inability to keep them. This imagery is brought forward by the eyes in her prints.</p>
<p>Loza Maléombho is Arise Magazine Fashion Week’s Emerging Designer of the Year. She designs in the United States and manufactures the clothes at her workshop in Côte d’Ivoire. This talented designer’s work can be traced as far back as her early teens, when she made dresses for the women in her family. Her Afro-Modern designs make use of batik prints, wax fabrics and Kente cloth. She’s all about showing the world what she has to offer and helping out the Côte d’Ivorian woman in the process.</p>
<p>The other fresh talent to keep an eye out for is Mimi Plange. Her Boudoir D’Huitres label has been around since 2007. Fashion guru André Leon Talley took an interest in and mentored her for her New York fashion Week presentation. As if this was not enough of a fashion nod, she created a capsule shoe collection with Manolo Blahnik—a dream for any woman in the world.</p>
<p>Africa is bringing more than just oil, gold and war to the table. The future of fashion is here.</p>


Tag: Runway

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Africa By Design

Africa In Vogue