Anyone who knows what the internet is and has vague inclinations towards the fashion industry has heard of Scott Schuman, aka the Sartorialist, and his iconic blog of the same name.
The blog was named one of Time‘s top 100 design influences and sits at number 20 on the Observer‘s list of the top 50 most powerful blogs. The fashion capitals of the world are its chief subjects but, refreshingly, it is not the Kate Moss’s of the world we see wearing the clothes. Real Parisians, Londoners and New Yorkers make these virtual pages.
Schuman to a certain degree democratises high style and fashion — the young, the old, the rich, the not so rich, the downright ugly, but always the consummately stylish, are included in his portraits.
But could such a concept work in a country such as South Africa, with its fledgling fashion industry and the overall internet capability of a hamstrung cow?
At the Fashion Exchange +27 this month — brainchild of designer Gavin Rajah and media partner Total Media — the growing relationship between the web as a platform for fashion and design in the South African context was a hot topic. Whether it’s an online store, such as South Africa’s own Adam and Eve, or growing a brand through viral marketing campaigns, the internet holds myriad ways to celebrate local fashion.
And Cape Town-based personal stylist Robyn Cooke is taking the fashion blog head on.
Cooke’s own ‘Sartorialist†meets local ‘flavaâ€. Cape Town Style Guide is a blog modelled on the crisp elegance of the Sartorialist but with scenes from South African life — if her subjects know how to dress a pair of Mr Price jeans and do it well, they can make the grade.
Cooke is well versed in the business of fashion, but with the added dimension of a postgrad degree in psychology. After years spent working as a communications and marketing manager for companies, such as Dimension Data, Cooke enrolled in a personal styling course at the London College of Fashion.
She was finally able to turn her interest in how people ‘market†themselves through their style choices with her business experience by setting up a personal styling consultancy. And after her return to South Africa last year she began her blog that has become a passion.
Cooke’s blog is linked to other local online fashion sites, such as South African Street Style, aka SASS, and international sites such as Still in Berlin and, naturally, the Sartorialist. In May she received just more than 1 000 new hits, which is ‘pretty good for a new blogâ€, she says.
Cooke believes South Africans have an instantly identifiable look that crosses class and racial boundaries — something she tries to capture in her blog.
‘I’ve lived abroad so long I can identify a South African instantly,†she says. ‘There’s an attitude, an unpretentiousness that South African style embraces. It’s very practical. We are more concerned with the functionality of what we wear.â€
She argues that discerning local consumers are increasing in South Africa’s fashion landscape. They are more than willing to wear a local label because they know they will get something unique, simple and elegant.
She is outspoken on the space occupied by large retailers. She argues that if they aren’t savvy, big retail could well lose its market share to stores with brands that are effective and distinct, such as those found at The Space, Blackbeard & Dare and YDE. ‘If you don’t have a clearly defined idea of who your customer is, then you have to try to sell everything to everybody,†she argues.
The behemoth status of stores such as Edgars, Truworths and Woolworths is because of their use of sales devices like store cards. ‘Truworths has worked on the back of its store card,†she says. ‘A customer will see an acrylic jumper in Mr Price that costs R100. They see a similar jumper at Truworths for R350 and buy it, even though they are being ripped off, because of the credit available.â€
Cooke is critical of the effect Truworths has had on YDE. The retailer’s purchase of the once cutting-edge, funky and extremely popular platform for local designers has seen prices go up as quality drops.
While Cooke’s blog is starting out in Cape Town, she gets hits from urban centres across the country, including Durban and Pretoria, and she plans to take the blog there as it grows.
Visit www.robyncooke-styleguide.co.za
