#WearSA2016 Fashion Show

After touring malls around Cape Town, Wear SA hosted their mall tour fashion show at Tygervalley Centre in Cape Town on 22 April 2016. Some of the countries leading brands showcased their designs to the public such as Bokang Lehabe (Bookha Creations) and Jade Saunders (theHive), as well as the House of WearSA brands, which include: B.Zar and Democracy of Denim (Designer: Tamsyn Johannisen), Blue Collar White Collar (Designer Paul van der Spuy), Magents (Designers: Didier DeVilliers and Tey Spanks) and Relabelled. It was something like sitting in the front row of SA fashion week. Designers pulled out all the stops to ensure that the public was left in awe of their eclectic designs.

The Wear SA movement is aimed at promoting local designers and the local manufacturing industry by encouraging people to support local labels using the hashtag ##lll#LocalLabelLover.

Wear South African is an initiative of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU).

About the designers

BOKANG LEHABE from Bookha Creations

Bookha Creations is a boutique brand whose signature style is highly detailed, modern and yet proudly South African. The Company focuses in creating unique and high quality fashion items for those not afraid to be themselves. BOOKHA started off producing high-end custom garments for clients, and is now making the transition into the ready-to-wear market, so that their clothing is more accessible, yet keeps to their love of high quality and providing unique items.

Bokang Lehabe is a young creative from humble beginnings who now holds a marketing qualification, and a B.A. degree in fashion design from one of the most prestigious institutions in the country. He has worked for and learned from one of the leading retail companies in South Africa. His work has been seen in a number of publications and has exhibited at numerous museums and art galleries in South Africa.

JADE SAUNDERS from theHive

The Hive is a women’s wear collection made with natural fabric and detailed with African Crochet. The Hive is inspired by Jade's travelling where she found herself frolicking around Spain and then Thailand. jade is mesmerized by the fashion on the streets and found that people watching could amuse her for hours. Exploring with a sketchpad; she would always return having found something beautifully inspiring to add to her African roots.

She fell in love with nature again: the intricacy of form, colours, textures, and all things colourful. She found her passion for fashion floating somewhere in the ocean and pacing down the streets of Bangkok and hopes to appeal to the individual who sees beauty in everything around them, a person who wants elegance and attention to detail to be captured in a timeless garment. Jade Saunders is leading a movement - to inspire people to be a part of a movement and a way of thinking; for it not to be ‘just a dress’. In addition to Jade and Bokang, the official Wear SA designers will also exhibit their talent, they include representations from:

House of WearSA

MAGENTS – ‘Konsciousness Rising’ – Didier DeVilliers

We are showing a collection of denim, sweatpants, tee shirts hoodies, shades, hats and sneakers. It will be our very first time doing boys, so be on the lookout for that. We have been asked by the Magents family in Japan and Europe to do kiddies but never got around to it. Now we have.

Magents has been around for almost two decades. We started by doing what we love without following any trends around the world. We have never designed a collection with the aim to sell the collection but were blessed by an almost cult following straight away. We have heard some amazing stories of how the slogans and different designs made people interact across different cultures, races and other social "barriers". This in a very positive way.

We do not believe in buying local lest local lives up to or excels beyond that of our international counterparts. We have an amazing creative ocean of talent. Wear SA has a new initiative called B-ZAR that is the home for South African design and its done in a world-class fashion. Something that gets you excited to call yourself South African. We live in a time where the confidence of local creatives is rising, allowing them to express themselves internationally. It is a "Konsciousness" that is unstoppable! It’s a "Rising", an awakening that grabs you in the gut and inspires you to express from within. You will see some of that "Rising" in our collection as we are absolutely in love with what is happening in the midst of our people. It’s an extremely exciting time to be alive!

B.ZAR – Tamsyn Johannisen

The Winter 16 range is titled Apoedia and it is inspired by the life of bees with an update on sixties silhouettes. Key elements include structure, clean lines and classic basics. It is a RTW range that is consumer friendly.

Democracy Of Denim

Winter 16 for DOD is titled Pie in the Sky and it contradicts the general bleak nature of winter with soft colours, playful textures and kitsch prints. The aim was to offer the South African market with a truly playful range and balance it with very wearable denim, denim knits and chambray pieces for the less whimsical customer.

Blue Collar White Collar – Paul van der Spuy and Tey Spanks)

Go on, go crazy, share your zest for being a local label lover on social media!