The Sanlam SA Fashion Week was launched in August 1997. Fashion industry stalwart and accomplished show producer, Lucilla Booyzen’s extensive exposure to the international designer circuit had led her to believe that the newly democratic South Africa, emerging from the stifling confines of a siege state and buzzing with optimism , creativity and a restored international status, was ready to unleash its relatively untapped, designer talent..
The first event took place in Sandton, in a large marquee, in what is now known as Nelson Mandela Square. It featured a mere seventeen designer collections, with most of the designers being unknown to anyone but a few, jealously-guarded patrons.
The prescience of introducing an platform that could serve as an independent showcase for South African designers, both to the local market and the world, and in this way, unearth and grow talent, proved to be profound.
In eleven years, the small band of original designers have grown into a vibrant creative community of established SMME’s. Some are actively exploring the growth potential of export trade whilst others focus on the local market’s enthusiasm for a distinctive SA signature.
Most importantly, it is a community that is constantly being revitalised by a steady stream of newcomers who now have a readily available marketing opportunity to gain the necessary access to key opinion makers such as the media which is so vital to gaining a foothold on the first rung of a successful future career.
With the “Business of Fashion” as its mission statement, the Sanlam SA Fashion Week’s current scope of activities include:
The first event took place in Sandton, in a large marquee, in what is now known as Nelson Mandela Square. It featured a mere seventeen designer collections, with most of the designers being unknown to anyone but a few, jealously-guarded patrons.
The prescience of introducing an platform that could serve as an independent showcase for South African designers, both to the local market and the world, and in this way, unearth and grow talent, proved to be profound.
In eleven years, the small band of original designers have grown into a vibrant creative community of established SMME’s. Some are actively exploring the growth potential of export trade whilst others focus on the local market’s enthusiasm for a distinctive SA signature.
Most importantly, it is a community that is constantly being revitalised by a steady stream of newcomers who now have a readily available marketing opportunity to gain the necessary access to key opinion makers such as the media which is so vital to gaining a foothold on the first rung of a successful future career.
With the “Business of Fashion” as its mission statement, the Sanlam SA Fashion Week’s current scope of activities include: