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| Deputy Mayor |
Durban has made fashion its business and has invested at least
R20 million in the Durban Fashion Fair (DFF), making it the only city in South
Africa to own its own fashion week and brand.
Speaking at the official opening of the Durban Fashion Fair 2015
at the Suncoast Hotel on July 16, Deputy Mayor of eThekwini, Nomvuzo Shabalala,
said that the DFF that is due to take place between August 26 and 29, on the
SUNdeck at Suncoast, went way beyond glamour.
Although showcased by a glittering four day event, it was not as
much about the runway as it was about revitalising the textile and clothing
industry itself within the city. It was about giving newcomers to the industry
and opportunity to showcase their work but also to help them create sustainable
small businesses.
“We believe fashion is one of the job creators. One designer
cannot work alone. That’s why each designer is a wealth creator,” she said.
As the city celebrated the talent and creations of some of the
big names in South African fashion, it also welcomed the opportunity to help
develop the many talents that would make up the next generation of
designers.
"For us, this is definitely not just about fashion shows.
It is about developing young talent through fashion and reviving the clothing
and textile industry in the city. We have come up with something different - a
touch of Africa, exciting home grown designs and concepts," she said.
This year's DFF will be preceded by a Fashion Development
Programme that includes a mentorship programme enabling 20 up-and coming new
designers to learn from the city's fashion gurus. Of these, 10 will be selected
for a two month long internship in Milan where they will attend two
international fashion shows, buyers' fairs and even art exhibitions. This is
aimed at enabling them to experience a culture of fashion that is far more than
skin deep.
Shabalala said that the young interns had an opportunity to
learn about the global fashion world whilst also discovering the importance of
sound business skills and related issues such as brand development and brand
recognition.
"Italy is one of the countries that has been able to
sustain its economy through its clothing and textile industry," she pointed
out, looking to a bigger picture that would enable the fashion and related
clothing and textile industries to again become major contributors to the
city's economic growth.
With a heart for community development, Shabalala said she
believed that the city needed to invest in its youth in order to develop a
sustainable economy. Fashion could be a job creator and skills developer in a
country and region where youth unemployment was amongst the highest in the
world.
She added that she believed that we needed to rediscover the
skills that had been mothballed when factories closed during the eighties and
nineties and ensure that not only were these passed to the next generation but
that the youth attained the additional skills needed to make their mark in the
modern day industry.
Shabalala said that Durban needed to move beyond its past when
the local industry had buckled under competition from cheap imports from
China. "We believe that has compromised the quality of the garments
sold in chain stores across the city. We also believe that if good clothing can
be produced locally, we can begin to revive the sector."
This vision was integral to the DFF from its earliest days. What
started out as a small component of the Durban Business Fair 17 years ago, has
taken on an identity of its own. She credited Sindi Shangase, the Programme
Manager for the Business Support Tourism and Markets Unit, with the massive
growth and vision that has emerged over the past three years.
"I have seen it start as a single evening at the Coast of
Dreams and grow to be spread over a number of evenings at the Durban Exhibition
Centre - and I believe that this year's event will be even bigger," she
said.
Three years ago, 30 designers participated in the DFF. This
year, in addition to the 20 emerging designers who will be competing for
internships to Milan, the 10 interns who have returned to Milan together with
big names in the fashion industry will show designs at the DFF.
The response to this year's DFF has been such that there is a
long waiting list of designers wanting to take part. It will also be the
longest Fashion Fair to date, taking place over four days.
2015 had also seen growth in international support for the DFF,
especially from across the continent. African countries represented at this
year's DFF include Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Malawi and Cameroon. This provided
an important opportunity to forge lasting relationships and move beyond the
recent xenophobic incidents that shook the city of Durban, said Shabalala. She
added that a great deal of support had also been solicited through the sister
cities programme and noted that, globally, there were a lot of major centres
from which Durban could learn.
Another major milestone for this year's DFF has been the
inclusion of Gelvenor Textiles as a sponsor. One of very few remaining success
stories in the local textile industry, she said that participating in the DFF
had effectively taken the company out of its comfort zone through challenging
young designers to adapt fabrics that had been developed for use in the
industrial, aeronautical, outdoor, technical and protective clothing sectors,
for use in mainstream fashion.
At things stand, local designers and the small number of cut,
make and trim operations that still operate in the city rely almost solely on
imported fabrics - something that Shabalala would like to see change. "We
need fabric to be manufactured locally so it can be less expensive and more
accessible.
We used to export textiles. The clothing and textile industry
had a big presence in New Germany, Hammarsdale and Clairwood. What happened to
those factories? Where did all the people and the skills go that we could use
to revive it?" She said that as part of its commitment to reviving the
clothing and textile sector in Durban, the city has also brought on board a
research team to look closely at the demise of the local industry and determine
a new path forwards. Results of this study are expected by year end.
