View full report - Fibre2fashion

local factory has 400 workers and provides an incentive scheme to workers. The factory
supplies both its own stores as well local retail outlets. As a result, it is one of very few
factories in the local clothing industry that has seen growth over the past few years.
Textile manufacturers are seeing the benefit of entering into the design-intensive industry
by creating their own brands. South African textiles company Vlisco has found a gap in
the market by creating “Afro-Gucci brands (Makgetla, 2006). The label, known as “Aziza” -
which means “gorgeous” in Swahili - was launched in July 2006 with the intention of
exporting this conceptualisation of a “pan-African” design.
In 1987, the South African Fashion Designers Association (SAFDA) was formed by local
designer Sonwabile Ndamase, who saw a need to bring together under one body the
severely fragmented fashion industry, so that designers could have access to various
sources and use the agency to catalyse cohesion among various related sectors. He
realised that the fashion design sector cannot operate in a vacuum.
The ideas of SAFDA are to:
Bring together and create partnerships with all stakeholders in the design industry both
locally and internationally. Encourage distinctive South African design. Maintain
standards of quality that are comparable with international benchmarks. Provide a
platform for young designers to market their products and innovation. Link designers
with credible clothing manufacturers and act within a framework of sound social and
business ethics to create and maintain social responsibility projects by assisting and
promoting sectors of the informal economy operating within the clothing industry.
(Vukani Fashions)
A further development towards industry cohesion is the creation of the Cape Town Fashion
Council. Established in July 2006, the aim of the Council is to be the “representative
mouthpiece and common platform for the industry.” Currently housed under the wing of
the Cape Provincial Government Department of Economic Development, the Council
seeks to position itself as an enabling hub for fashion designers, government bodies,
retailers, manufacturers and tertiary institutions to pool their expertise and resources. There
are concerns that opposition from the various districts and municipalities might arise from
plans to implement similar projects, which would create even more contestation among
various representative bodies claiming control over designers.
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