African designer wear boom makes a splash

Luxury fashion brands have been a niche market for the few and rich, with big European brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Armani holding prime positions among this enviable range.

Things are changing, however, and African luxury has now come on board, with growing interest and support for brands such as Rich Mnisi, Dr Pachanga and more accessible ranges such as Caraci Clothing and Zyle Clothing.

Investec luxury retail analyst Thane Duff says internationally there isn’t a big market for African brands in Europe, yet there is enough information to see that the market is steadily growing. And, with more and more African brands popping up online, there appears to be an increasing move away from the traditional offerings in big retailers.

Entrepreneurship has always been what Phumzile Ntuli strived for, already having her own business in construction, the creative businesswoman always had an eye on fashion too.

ZyleClothing CEO, Phumzile Ntuli. Photo: Supplied

Ntuli says her the clothing brand, which manifested in 2018, was a way to feed a market that was interested in her designs. The designer would at times wear clothes designed by herself and when she posted the outfits on social media, people wanted her to make them for others or themselves.

Testing the market and receiving great feedback she named her clothing brand ZyleClothing. which is a bit of a play on the last four letters of her own name.

The message of the brand is simple, with the designs of the African cultural blankets covering all 11 language groups in the country.

African cultural blankets by Zyle Clothing. Photo: Supplied

The clothing and print are in mainly primary colours, used to represent South Africa in green, gold, blue and red.

“The clothing brand is inspired by different African cultures. The reason why I came into the market was that there was a gap or need for us as black designers to be rooted into our cultural elements also our cultural artworks. The clothing tells many stories. We have a very rich history when it comes to our culture but we don’t use them or tell them enough.”

African print or clothing is not as common as everyday wear in South Africa as in some parts of the African continent. This meant that while selling her clothes in big shopping malls such as Sandton City and Mall of Africa, Ntuli noticed a huge pool of interest from visitors abroad.

“International clients were amazed. They would ask who designed this? They want to know more, they are hungry for the information and whatever is happening here in South Africa. What sustains the brand or designs is the story that attaches it.”

Ntuli hopes that everyday wear becomes more African in South Africa: “We have a very rich history if we could celebrate that 365 days a year it would be a plus. We can achieve so much in the industry.”

Ntuli says making her designs can be difficult, particularly finding suppliers and cotton manufacturers as many of these materials are imported. Her biggest brand attached item is their blanket and Ntuli says she struggled during her peak in winter to make more because the supply of cotton had run out.

“The supply must happen here, this is what I stand for. See the process start here and finish here. We also need to start the trends here. I am tired of waiting for international trends and we only follow them three to four years later. Some of these big brands also use our print to sale for bigger audiences. We should be the ones leading that too.”

With some big clothing retail companies struggling to adjust to the changes brought along by e-commerce, and changing patterns in what shoppers want to buy, ZyleClothing wants to tap into that market using a collaborative approach.

“I can’t do mass production. I have so much to give but what we can do is collaborations. Working with these big retailers can open a can of worms, because you not going to get what you want in terms of the value.

“What I mean of a can of worms is that the status quo in the country, the way the clothing industry is currently, there is a lot of coping of brands where designers are not appreciated. Whatever print I come up with, someone else would copy it and price it less.”

An example of how she wants to do collaborations right happened recently, with popular content creator and influencer Naledi Radebe.

“We met Naledi in Sandton City. She is amazing. She is a stylist and she is doing justice to the brand. The collaboration was mainly her promoting us and we appreciated that.”

Content creator Naledi Radebe in ZyleClothing. Photo: Supplied

Another recent entry into the market is Caraci clothing, started by 29-year-old Sebo Caraci who was brought up in a small town in Limpopo.

The designer finished a degree in Bcom marketing, before spending a few years overseas teaching. Just like many designers he loves adding African print to make it livelier he says.

Models wearing Caraci Clothing range. Photo: Supplied

Noticing a gap in the market, this time in the plus-size market for African print designs, Sebo says when he came back home in 2020, the unexpected events of the pandemic nearly halted his business, but the young businessman pushed through.

“I am such a creative person. African print is filled with colour which I love.

“Because I am a bigger person I just needed something that almost helped me stand out. Not stand out because I am big, but stand out because I am wearing a print that is fun and interesting. Using that print, the shapes and the geometrics that is faltering, it was just a great marriage.”

He adds that when he wore Africa, prints in China he noticed he was more interesting to the locals.

“This kind of clothing is part of our identity. It’s who we are and it needs to be celebrated.”

Caraci Clothing caters for all African women, men and celebrating their silhouettes, body, shapes in different styles. Firstly, based on what customers want, Caraci is moving towards more mass-produced items that are unisex such as their bomber jackets, tops, dresses and Kimmonos in different sizes.

Bomber jackets from Caraci Clothing. Photo: Supplied

“Clothing that doesn’t really hug the waist but a powerful message, clothing that represents all bodies,” says Sebo.

With less than a year in business, the brand is also looking to partner up with young designers and influencers.

Sebo is passionate about creating clothing for other parts of the population that are underserviced, beside the plus-sized crowd.

“We need to be solving problems every day in fashion. Right now this is something so dear to me. How do we create clothing for disabled people who will also want to feel good, transgender people too? The people who are not represented, we are somewhere in the world creating clothing that will make people feel better.”

Sebo Caraci designer and founder of Caraci Clothing. Photo: Supplied

While he hopes to someday have a flagship store, Sebo is a bit apprehensive about big partnerships.

“Sometimes when you are in the big chain markets you see the brand but you don’t know who it is, or who the designer is. It would be great to work with a big brand, but when you want to grow we want to empower other small designers, so when they grow they can have their flagship store.”

Taking full advantage of online shopping, Caraci is also building a design to wear feature. Customers can choose their own African print fabric, the details, and the colours online.

Sebo explains this is a great way to service those types of customers but they still have an option to walk instore and feel the clothes.

Ntuli concludes that African clothing can be worn by anyone, to appreciate the cultures, no matter what race they are.

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