The dates for Africa’s only focused menswear fashion week are set for 2016. The third instalment of South African Menswear Week (SAMW16) will take place from the 3rd to 6th February, at the Cape Town stadium. SAMW16 will bring together more than 35 designers from across South Africa, and once again include the best from the continent, with designers from 6 additional countries participating.
Building on the incredible success of the first two seasons, South African Menswear week platform is now considered to be the leading event in terms of innovation and curation. Ryan Beswick co-founder of SAMW hopes to build on this foundation enthusiastically stating,“not only did we show the world that the depth of design talent in South Africa and Africa is truly amazing, but we now have media from more than a dozen countries wanting to attend and support the platform”, Beswick adds, “the goal of developing the South African menswear space remains at the forefront of what we are aiming to do, and through the platform and it’s wide media exposure, the consumer in South Africa is seeing that there’s an alternative to the imported brands.”
Pinnacle to South African and continental design is that all designers should also have sound businesses. Beswick emphasizes the importance of the curation process for designers to be considered for South African Menswear Week . “All designers undergo a strict curation checklist, ranging from design signature, through to their ability to produce. We’re flooded with applications, but only the best make it through the 12 member curation panel, and even then, we only have space to accommodate the 35 best who topped all criteria.”
This “non-padding” of the schedule, according to Beswick, is why the world has taken note of South African Menswear Week designers, especially young talent such as Lukhanyo Mdingi, OATH by Rich Mnisi and Jenevieve Lyons. Designers such as Chulaap’s Chu Suwannapha and MaXhosa’s Laduma Ngxokolo are also considered the next generation of South African design superstars on the global stage. And they are back to showcase their latest AW16 collections.
Ensuring that SAMW February AW16 collections are truly showcasing the best of South African menswear design, established designers and labels such as Craig Port, CSquared, Paledi Segapo and Fundudzi by Craig Jacobs will be scheduled alongside the emerging talents including Mzukisi Mbane, Augustine, and new talent designers Siviwe James and Neo Serati. Continental designers such as Orange Culture, Tokyo James and Mai Atafo from Nigeria will showcase with designers from Angola, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
“It’s really about putting the best menswear on one schedule over the four days, providing the world and media with access to the talent,” says Beswick, “and due to the interest from both media, buyers and designers, we’ve added an additional day!”.
South African Menswear Week AW16 promises to push technology and show high-end production; from world class catwalk shows and presentations to talks by renowned trends analyst Nicola Cooper. There will be various functions including the screening of fashion and culture documentary and an opening event in the run-up days to the shows.
Media accreditation is open from 01 December 2015.