Why South Africa Fashion Week Hit Pause - and What's Next

"Booyzen is working closely with a small team of creative strategists, industry advisors and business consultants to help transform SAFW into a hybrid platform that blends physical and digital experiences. "The new SAFW will move beyond being a single event to becoming a year-round ecosystem," she says. "It will focus on digital storytelling, designer visibility and meaningful market access - both locally and globally." The goal is to facilitate that through retail collaborations, art and design crossovers, education, and digital content creation."

"Intimacy and connection News of SAFW's "strategic pause" sent shockwaves through South Africa's fashion industry. As one of the oldest and leading fashion weeks, SAFW has attracted a high caliber of local designers over the years, including Thebe Magugu, Lukhanyo Mdingi and Mmusomaxwell. It connects designers to local and regional fashion retailers such as Mr Price, Woolworths and Merchants on Long, as well as local media platforms."

"SAFW has also forged important partnerships with leading international fashion weeks. Through its Fashion Bridges - I Ponti della Moda initiative, a bilateral partnership with Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI) and the Italian embassy in South Africa, the country's designers are invited to Milan Fashion Week to showcase their Fall/Winter collections. The exchange also brought Italian designer Andrea Adamo, founder of Andreādamo, to present her collection in Johannesburg last year."

Booyzen is leading a small team of creative strategists, industry advisors and business consultants to transform SAFW into a hybrid platform blending physical and digital experiences. The new SAFW will move beyond a single event to become a year-round ecosystem focused on digital storytelling, designer visibility and meaningful market access locally and globally. The plan includes retail collaborations, art and design crossovers, education and digital content creation. SAFW's strategic pause shocked the fashion industry; the week has long connected high-caliber designers to major local retailers and international partnerships, including exchanges with Milan Fashion Week. Reactions are mixed but many expect a positive recalibration.

Read at Vogue