Some of the freshest talent in local fashion has found a=20 new home at Cape Town’s Young Designers’ Emporium. MALU=20 VAN LEEUWEN reports=20
LAST week, a new shop flung open its doors in Cape Town.=20 Nothing wildly unusual about that, except that, for the=20 first time, this shop gathers under one roof 10 aspirant=20 South African fashion designers.
The Young Designers’ Emporium is tucked away in the=20 Waldorf Arcade, but is within comfortable spending=20 distance from Greenmarket Square, Cape Town’s vibrant=20 commercial epicentre and its unofficial fashion capital.
The emporium itself is bright and spacious, with a=20 distinct ”less is more” decor style. There’s a ”modern=20 warehouse” feel to it: the ceiling’s exposed concrete=20 blocks create an impression of depth that is refracted=20 in the galvanised metal sheeting of the floor. A barbed- wire topiary stands guard at the door, and, in the=20 centre — home to a majestic bouquet of glass flowers=20 flanked by exhibits of sunglasses — presides an=20 enormous table lined with aluminium.
But it’s along the perimeters that the emporium really=20 springs into life. Here you’ll find chic satin ensembles=20 from Leaping Lizard (a mother and son duo), fluffy white=20 bunny jackets by Dare Clothing, chainmail dresses and=20 scrap-metal accoutrements courtesy of Hardwear, as well=20 as techno rave gear from both The Image Police and=20
For the flamboyant there are Gerhard’s skintight purple=20 tartan trousers, truly a sight to behold; on the other=20 hand, Diane Paiva’s understated classic cuts are likely=20 to appeal to more ”mature” or conservative dressers.=20 Straddling the two extremes are designers such as=20 Michelle Harper, Desiree and the Genetix label, all of=20 whom cater for trendies between the ages of 18 and 35.
This is the ambitious project of Paul Simon (22), enfant=20 terrible-turned-entrepreneur. The emporium’s history,=20 Simon explains, can be traced back to his being=20 unceremoniously thrown out of the Cape Technikon for bad=20 behaviour. He then ”went to find himself overseas”,=20 returned and passed Intec’s clothing production=20 management and fashion marketing course with flying=20
”At the end of the course I went a step further,=20 produced a range and showed it to various buyers. I got=20 a fantastic response, but couldn’t find anyone to sell=20 to. Nobody would let me into the big chainstores — up- and-coming designers just don’t get those types of=20 accounts. I wasn’t a registered business, nor did I have=20 the capital to become one.”
Meanwhile, Simon discovered his entire range reproduced=20 in a display window at one of the big fashion=20 chainstores. ”At first I was extremely upset, then I=20 thought: well done, it would have worked.” Dismissing=20 the notion of informal markets — ”I couldn’t see my=20 stuff, which is more upmarket, being sold under those=20 conditions, with no credit card or changeroom facilities=20 — he decided it was necessary to indulge in some=20 copying of his own.
Loosely based on London’s Hyper Hyper, which showcases=20 promising British designers, it took Simon a year to=20 realise the concept of the emporium from birth to=20 delivery. The idea, he says, was to provide young=20 designers in the local fashion firmament with the=20 opportunity to produce ranges specifically for the=20 emporium and which weren’t ”frightfully expensive”. ”I=20 knew I was going to have everything from young funky=20 rave clothing right up to formal eveningwear. To put all=20 that in one shop is very risky in terms of the marketing=20 aspect, and I was warned against it by a lot of people.”
As exciting and innovative as it sounded in theory,=20 Simon found the task of selling the project to potential=20 interested parties initially quite demoralising.”People=20 were very secretive about showing me samples, but I’ve=20 got a good enough eye through my studies to tell what=20 would work … It was very difficult to find the right=20 premises and to get someone to put up the capital. I=20 nearly gave up. This was the last place — if I didn’t=20 get this I was giving up.”
During this time Simon was ”as poor as a churchmouse”.=20 ”I’m very fortunate,” he continues, ”that my family put=20 up the capital.”
This is probably why Simon describes the emporium as a=20 ”kibbutz-type retail operation”. ”We all share costs=20 together. The designers rent a space from me (each gets=20 two square metres) and I sell their merchandise for=20 them. They do their own pricing structures; I don’t put=20 a mark-up on their prices — although I think some of=20 the merchandise is much too expensive, and one designer=20 is charging too little for what they’re making.”
If designers aren’t happy, they can leave: all that’s=20 required is a month’s notice and they will be replaced=20 by whoever nestles at the top of Simon’s now rapidly=20 growing waiting list.
Despite what Simon feels to be a ”huge demand” for=20 affordable designerwear, a few patrons who attended the=20 emporium’s launch criticised the clothing as ”too=20 Eurocentric”. Simon, however, is unapologetic: ”I didn’t=20 mean to give it that flavour but I’m happy to take the=20 credit for it.” As for the absence of black designers,=20 he comments: ”I was only put in touch with one black=20 designer; he’s in Durban and it’s too difficult to send=20 stock backwards and forwards … I don’t distinguish=20 between colour, sex, race or creed; it’s whoever=20 approaches me and has the right merchandise for my=20
If the Young Designers’ Emporium succeeds as a business=20 venture, Simon intends to advance his ”little three-year=20 plan” by opening similar stores in Johannesburg, Durban,=20 Port Elizabeth and Cape Town’s Waterfront. ”From what’s=20 happened so far,” he beams, ”I’m sitting happy.”
The Young Designers’ Emporium: Shop Six, Waldorf Arcade,=20 Cape Town. Tel: (021) 24-1514