01/03/2008 18:34 - (SA)
Survival of the fittest in the couture jungle
The fashion industry may conjure up images of non-stop partying and glamour, but the sharp end of the business poses many challenges, writes NONZWAKAZI CEKETE.
THE adage that things aren’t always what they seem, is rich in truth. Take the fashion industry, for example. When radiant models on the catwalk show off the latest collections, do we ever ponder what struggles designers have to overcome to get their products on the ramp and onto people’s backs?
Fashion might seem like a trivial and fleeting business which changes with the seasons, but it is as serious a business as any other.
“In its essence, the fashion business is about the fluidity of fastmoving ideas and to make money you need to burst out with the next fresh, new and fabulous idea that you can turn around quickly. It is a business that you must love deeply and obstinately otherwise it will break your heart,” says Lucilla Booyzen, director of Sanlam SA Fashion Week.
Few designers are as completely dedicated to the business as veteran Gavin Rajah, the shining beacon of South African haute couture who has helped put us onto the global fashion map.
He says: “This business is hard and requires perseverance and pure determination to succeed. That is why it is important to find your niche, develop a distinctive signature and focus on your brand as a business.”
Take note young designers. These words of advice come from someone who has been a player in the fashion industry for eight years and has dressed everyone from beauty queens and TV presenters to socialites and international models.
Rajah emphasises that success does not just begin and end with your product on the ramp. “Forget about the walk down the runway. It’s overrated and unless you create the infrastructure first to support your brand you will be going nowhere fast.”
These are words that young designer Machere Pooe takes to heart. This Joburg native has shown on two fashion weeks and staged other runway shows, yet she still struggles to break free from the “up and coming” label.
Pooe, who started her business six years ago out of her small flat in Yeoville, says she has learnt that the industry is about finding your own unique selling point, taking your business seriously and to “keep trucking even when the going gets tough”.
Getting down to business
Evan Schiff, spokesperson for Africa Fashion International (AFI), who own Joburg Fashion Week, says the true potential of South African fashion is constantly growing and will continue to do so only if it begins to be treated as a serious business.
“Because the fashion market goes beyond our small local borders, it requires that designers think globally and use their unique South African inspired designs to appeal to the global market,” says Schiff.
He says designers are moving beyond being a label to growing into fully fledged brands, creating opportunities for brand extensions and supporting jobs and economic growth.
“This is exactly what industry development is all about. Only in this way can South African designers take their place as leaders in the creative economy,” says Schiff.
While creativity is a large and important part of fashion design, making it a viable business with impressive marketing and distribution is equally important. And designers are realising they need good business skills to be competitive and sustainable.
But if someone wants to deliver more than basic necessities they have to ensure “they match their creative vision with the consumers’ needs in the best possible way in terms of all the classic marketing principles – price, product, promotion, availability”, says Booyzen.
She said: “People either part with their hard-earned cash to buy your garment or they don’t. As with all commercial activity often much of the success lies in how savvy you are at making sure that your marketing plan is totally aligned with the market you are aiming at. If you get that right, you will be taken seriously.”
This sounds easier said than done, says Pooe. “We face our own unique set of challenges, like access to capital, business support services, competition from cheap international brands. The design and manufacturing segments of the industry need more corporate and government support in creating an exciting product with a unique signature.”
Designers have also been crying foul about the so-called lack of support from local retailers. “Retailers would rather buy from places like China (with its cheap labour) than support local designers,” said Pooe.
Playing on the world stage
There is no denying that the South African fashion industry is gaining in strength. This was quite obvious when Thula Sindi, David Tlale, Thabani Mavundla and Fundudzi presented the impressive C’est Couture collection during last year’s Paris Fashion Week.
But this does not necessarily translate into big bucks for the designers. Even after the Paris showing they still need to work hard to see capital returns on their designs.
Schiff emphasises that designers need to be aware that they are running a typical small, medium or micro-enterprise (SMME) and need to develop crucial aspects to realise the true potential of their businesses.
Planning, strategy, marketing, branding and selling are a few of those elements. Yet consumers still see the local design industry as lacking in standards compared to the rest of the world – which is unfair.
“We often forget that South Africa is a relatively young democracy and industries like fashion existed in isolation from the rest of the world,” said Pooe.
Booyzen agrees that design culture in South Africa is still in its infancy compared to countries like Italy, France, the UK where there is a great familiarity and comfort with a design-led fashion industry.
And even though South Africa is still in the learning stages the industry has come far and achieved a great sense of freedom.
Booyzen added: “We must rather be realistic about the size of the challenge and the task ahead of us but equally not be daunted because we certainly have potential.”
Even so Rajah says South Africa could be doing much better.
“We need to take lessons learnt from other countries that have gone through the same teething stages of trying to establish themselves in the international fashion arena before trying to compete globally.”
Harvesting the talent
In the past there were barriers to entry for young designers and many new design graduates opted to become fashion stylists, fashion editors and retail buyers. This rather constricted environment was obviously not conducive to the development of a design-led fashion culture but fast forward to today, this has changed significantly. Anyone can wake up and decide to make clothes.
“We are constantly being blown away by the calibre of young designers we are discovering. They are humble, tenacious, and single-mindedly passionate about wanting to make their daily bread from designing,” says Booyzen.
Of course, like any other capitalist industry, this couture jungle is all about the survival of the fittest.
Which is why Booyzen finds it essential for up and coming designers to know exactly what it is that they have to offer the market before going to the drawing board.
Her advice is that young designers seek expert advice and draw deeply “from all the art, design, fashion, music, and culture that has gone before to understand what distils into a single good shape”.
For Schiff, the grooming of the young should start in school.
He adds: “AFI is in discussions with technikons and business schools to introduce courses specific to the fashion industry.”
And Rajah agrees: “Young designers need help with more material issues related to their businesses as opposed to merely doing shows and producing collection after collection.”
Glamor Mags come to life
SEE the state of SA fashion for yourself during the Autumn/Winter Audi Joburg Fashion Week which starts on Wednesday and ends on
Saturday at the Sandton Convention Centre. The Sanlam SA Winter Fashion Week will take place from 14 to 16 March at Museum Africa in Newtown, Joburg.
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