Boasting both emerging designers and established labels, with an empowerment initiative to boot, Fashion@Spark Expo seeks to drive creative collaborations among designers and expose the public to a heritage-proud aesthetic with an emphasis on individuality and uniqueness.
“We want to tell South Africans to stop buying international stuff and support us. Our prices are reasonable and we’re really unique”, says organiser Tania Riccardi. With this in mind, Riccardi has put together a list of exhibitors who all offer “cutting-edge contemporary fashion”. There’s not only clothing, but accessories, hats, shoes, kids’ clothes, maternity wear, menswear and more.
Yoriko Alty is one of the many new designers exhibiting and believes that the time is right. “People are prepared to buy individual items — not everyone wants a shirt from Mr Price with 1000-odd people wearing it. People want something special. Small young designers have seen the market where you are not trying to compete with Truworths and Edgars, but want to create something new for people”, she says. Alty’s clothing label, Canard Rouge, is characterised by a soft girly, young feel.
“What’s great about this show,” continues Cavy Corns, “is that it offers an environment that you can showcase that in. Secretly everyone goes ‘I wish I could get an order from Woolworthes or Edgars or Truworths’ but only because that seems to be where you have to go get exposure, even though you don’t want to go there — you want to keep your individuality and build a label or brand that is not associated with the big stores”.
Corns is from the Fragile Glass Company that originally started off specialising in glass homeware. However, after fiddling around with some scrap pieces of glass, she’s now got an exclusive range of jewellery. With no experience as a designer, Corns is excited to collaborate with other designers at the show.
Placing established and new designers together in a collaborative, rather then competitive, space certainly does promise to encourage an exciting fusion. Setting the tone with distinctive collaborations between man and material are some of the empowerment-initiative women’s groups.
For instance, the Tswelopele group make handbags, wine coolers, pencil boxes and shoe cases from discarded billboards; while the Boitumelo group recycle paper and chip bags to make handbags and berets. Generating cultural fusion, the Arts in Action group create exquisitely embroidered and beaded handbags drawing from the diverse cultural heritage of its members.
This fits in to the exhibition’s assertion of a Jo’burg chic aesthetic – defined as Afro-centric and locally produced with less bling and more of an urban street-wear feel than Hollywood Chic. However, Riccardi concurs with Alty and Corns that “cool” is individuality.
“People generally feel they have to follow the fashion trends. Then you get someone who is a certain size and what’s out there in the stores make you look terrible, but people wear it because they want to feel fashionable. You should wear what you look good in,” Riccardi concludes.
The expo runs on June 24 and 25 from 10am to 10pm and June 26 from 10am to 5pm at the Spark Gallery, 10 Louis Road, Orchards, Johannesburg. Tel: 485 4602.