“In kilt with #FoF2021’s three pillars: education, business and culture & storytelling, this year’s theme is centred around Ubuntu and Fashion — the shared economy and the future of fashion.
The shared-economy is undoubtedly the future of circular and ethical fashion.”
Rewoven, 2021.
An ongoing partnership between local sustainable fashion pioneers, Rewoven, the Swedish Institute and the Embassy of Sweden in South Africa, returns with its third edition of the Future of Fashion Indaba.
The indaba is scheduled to take place this weekend on Saturday, 20 November 2021, both in-person and virtually.
Founded in 2019 by Rewoven’s Esethu Cenga and Tshepo Bhengu, the annual fashion symposium has been earmarked as the biggest sustainability focused fashion event on the local calendar, and promises to congregate South Africa’s fashion elite all in one location – Sandton – for the weekend.
Photograph by Zizi Ntobongwana
You may be asking yourself, “why do we need such initiatives locally?”. So, let’s contextualise. South Africa has the highest unemployment rate in the world, clocking in at just over 34 percent for the second quarter of 2021.
This harsh reality — as with most things in this country — predominantly impacts young Black people and people of colour, and the figure is still spiralling out of control.
Our country’s GDP is also pretty stagnant, and has been for a long time. Tapping into sustainability and the circular economy opens up so many other exciting revenue streams — which will increase employment (especially among femmes) and flows of income into the country, in order to continue driving forward-thinking initiatives like #FoF2021.
Photograph by Anele Matomela
Photograph by Anele Matomela
Fashion is one of the Earth’s biggest waste contributors, therefore, symposiums such as these serve as free educational lessons in how consumers can become more conscious and savvy about their consumption habits and how they impact the Earth.
In kilt with #FoF2021’s three pillars: education, business and culture & storytelling, this year’s theme is centred around Ubuntu and Fashion — the shared economy and the future of fashion.
The shared economy is undoubtedly the future of circular and ethical fashion, critical in its realisation that a more sustainable future is the formation of ecosystems, along with the efficient use and sharing of resources and a global sense of interconnectedness.
Photograph by Anele Matomela
Photograph by Anele Matomela
Sharing, ecosystems and a sense of community are pivotal to African cultures and societies, or as we call it in South Africa, Ubuntu.
This is an African social philosophy, reciprocity and harmony with all life at the core of its logic, all with the aim of building and maintaining community with justice and mutual caring.
As such, Ubuntu should not only be seen as a social and cultural phenomenon or philosophy, however, it should perhaps also be seen as a knowledge modality that can potentially imbue us with harmonic intelligences required to re-imagine and create a socially inclusive, environmentally just and economically sustainable local clothing industry.
Photograph by Zizi Ntobongwana
This year the Future of Fashion will explore how the principles of Ubuntu can lead us to a circular and ethical future of fashion. Prepare yourself for an eventful line-up of circular fashion-focused activities.
These will include, masterclasses focused on “The role of technology in a sustainable fashion eco-system” with Jonas Larsson, senior lecturer from The Swedish School of Textiles, and Tshepo Bhengu from Rewoven COO, as well as “How to be a conscious consumer” with experience and cultural designer Annegret Affolderbach.
In addition to the masterclasses, there will be a design exhibition, a marketplace and a panel discussion under the theme “The Future of Fashion, Design and Lifestyle” with Lukhanyo Mdingi, Xzavier Zulu and Molife Kumona — hosted by Tinuke Eboka and Khensani Mohlatlole.
Photograph by Zizi Ntobongwana
Photograph by Anele Matomela
The design exhibition will include Lukhanyo Mdingi, Lara Klawikowski, Rethread, I AM ISIGO, KikoRomeo, St Reign, The Amazing Work of An’so, Tshepiso Jewellery and Wanida Boutique. The marketplace will include the Sneakershack, Cry Baby Thrift, Rewoven and Thrift Culture.
Rewoven — a textile recycling startup — which recently won R1.19 million as part of the Äänit Prize which is The Mandela Rhodes Foundation’s new award for social impact, will also be premiering a new fashion film titled Indlela Yethu – Our Way Of Being. Due to COVID-19, the annual fashion indaba has limited spaces for the in-person event, which has unfortunately reached full capacity.
A confirmation email with the final event details will be sent out to those who were invited and RSVP’d for the event.
However, you are still able to RSVP for the livestream which will cover the whole programme here!
Photograph by Anele Matomela
Photograph by Anele Matomela
Photograph by Anele Matomela
Photograph by Zizi Ntobongwana
