Image: Brent October

It’s time to stand up and be seen…in South African designed and made clothing.

The Wear SA Fashion Festival aims to promote the South African clothing and textile sector, encompassing design, manufacturing, retail and consumers, encouraging them to become “Local Label Lovers.”

In conjunction with the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU), The Wear SA Fashion Festival incorporates a series of events which started with the annual Fashioning the Future Workshop, followed by the ‘Fashion and all that Jazz’ gala dinner that took place on the eve of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.

This year, Wear SA will add another event to its growing calendar with the launch of a ‘PEOPLE’S RUNWAY’.

Image: Brent October

Wear SA has grown into a national movement with the goal of making all South Africans aware of the importance of buying clothing and textile products made in South Africa.

To that end, organisers are asking members of the public, young designers, dressmakers, pattern cutters, seamstresses and anyone involved in the wider fashion industry, to make their way to Canal Walk Shopping Centre on Saturday 7^th April at 2pm, to stand up for SA, dressed of course, in their locally made outfits.

The idea is to make a colourful statement – a bold message that goes beyond the ‘local is lekker’ mantra, but rather extends into a ‘local first is best’ philosophy.

Image: Brent October

It is only by believing in, and supporting locally made products, that we can break the cycle of reliance that a vast section of our population has on cheaper external goods.

South Africa has a proud fashion history, with some of the country’s designers taking to the international stage. But it is now the time for local manufacturers and retailers and those who keep the lifecycle going, to be acknowledged.

“By buying locally made items, we, as South Africans, are helping to stimulate a sustainable industry that supports many thousands of workers across the country. We speak about this often, but now it is time for us all to take this on board and actually do it,” affirmed Wayne Van Der Rheede, spokesperson for Wear SA.

Image: Brent October

Label detectives will be patrolling the crowds, to ensure that everyone who will take to the stage for the grand finale is a legitimate ‘Local Label Lover’.

Beyond the colourful spectacle, there will be prizes for the best dressed member of the public – male and female – as well as opportunities for an emerging menswear and ladies-wear designer to be recognised.

The Wear SA designers currently taking the stage are:

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Magnets
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LUSEE
Yaone Refentse
Elle Collection
Isabel de Villiers Clothing
DOD Democracy of Denim
WearSA

The Wear SA Fashion Forward People’s Runway will take place in the Centre Court at Canal Walk Shopping Centre in Cape Town on Saturday 7^th April at 2pm. It is a free event.