Since 2009, Nomahlubi
Mazwai’s vision for the
Buyel’Ekhaya Festival,
which she founded, has been
to empower the people of the
Eastern Cape.
“I say this all the time, it’s
a clarion call to all the people
who were born and nurtured
in the Eastern Cape to be who
they are, to come back home,
especially during the December
holidays.”
Mazwai said the province
was officially named the poorest
in the country, even though
some of the greatest luminaries
came from there.
“If you look at the state
of education in the province,
there is a lot of brain drainage.
We used to have such good
schools. People leave to go to
Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and
some the Western Cape.”
She said the festival was
more than just dance and
music, adding that the many
conversations she has had with
people about the state of the
province led to her ploughing
back into the community.
“So many homes are child-headed.
When we come back
home and tell people to buyelekhaya,
it’s important to make
an impact where you can. It
means so much to those who
cannot afford to.”
Fashion is not just about the look, the business behind it is the real trade. Picture: Nhlanhla Phillips
The Eastern Cape is also
known for the talented musicians
that come out of the
province.
Mazwai said it was
her mission to empower the
locals in as many ways as possible.
The festival barely has a
budget but is compared to some
of the biggest in the country.
When Mazwai started the
Fashion Development Programme
as an extension to the
main event, it was because she
wanted to display and nurture
the talent out there.
“The programme is now in
its second year. African cloth
and fabrics have been taken
on globally and if we aren’t
careful, people will take our
commodities and add value to
them, leaving us to buy them
back. I went to the Fibre, Processing
& Manufacturing Seta
and asked for help to develop
the kids.
I wanted them to get
trained by well-known designers
and understand the business
behind fashion. The programme
takes them through
the whole value chain.”
Designer Thula Sindi is seen with upcoming creatives, who he is helping with the establishment of their brands in the industry, at his studio. Picture: Nhlanhla Phillips
The programme is offered
to 10 talented designers, who
are then trained in Johannesburg
at various design studios
and compete to be in the top
three, who will become interns
for six months with an established
designer.
International model and
businesswoman Andiswa
Manxiwa was more than
willing to help with the programme.
She produces the
fashion show that takes place
at the actual festival, once the
students’ designs are ready to
be showcased.
“She shared this whole idea
with me and I fell in love with
it. It’s my industry, it’s my
world and so it’s something I
really jumped on.”
She said being able to bring
on designers like David Tlale
and Thula Sindi meant the students
could learn so much.
“It’s extremely crucial to
know the business. It’s one
thing to make clothes but you
have to know how to sell them.
It’s pointless to learn from
designers, then showcase and
then just sit at home, so I wish
for them true success.”
Thula Sindi, who opened
his studio for the students to
use and learn in, said he was
always looking for new ways to
impart knowledge.
“For me, it’s hard when
it’s always one-on-ones. You
don’t feel like you are getting
enough impact.
When they
(Buyel’Ekhaya) came with the
concept that they were doing
something extended for fashion,
I wanted to be a part of it.
If it has to do with students and
imparting knowledge, I can do
that because I love teaching –
that would be my other career
if I weren’t doing this.”
Sindi said the programme
was a fast track for the students
to learn what took him
years to do, in just 10 days.
“They get to create a brand
identity. Most designers don’t
know how their brand is supposed
to look, don’t know what
the logo is supposed to look
like, don’t know their target
market or costing, so all those
things that would take a couple
of years I want them to learn
in this programme and save
themselves time.
“Black entrepreneurs don’t
have the time or the luxury to
learn on our feet. There are no
parents to catch us when we
fall. We need to not make those
mistakes, so if someone has
made those mistakes ahead of
you, they can teach you.”
Through the programme,
the students will make two
garments that will be shown
at Buyel’Ekhaya. They have
a set budget and will create a
“lookbook” for their brand and
logo, and an identity.
“The issues with entrepreneurs
are right here. We
can’t be taking too long with
anything.
The overall winners
from last year went to David
Tlale. I took two of the students
and tried get them into retail
stores. The key is to not move
to Johannesburg but to create
garments where you are. You
can sell to major metropolitans
without having to move to
them and adjusting to rentals
and labour shock.”
Sindi said this was something
a lot of people did not
realise as they thought moving
to bigger cities meant true
success.
“Create brands from home
and where you can afford
labour.”
Sindi has taken on two of
the students from last year’s
inaugural programme and put
them into a six-month programme
where they will get
to clock the performance of
their designs in the commercial
market.
Thula Sindi explains why programmes like the Buyel'Ekhaya Fashion Development are important. Picture: Nhlanhla Phillips
“We take their collections
to Burgundy Fly and The
Space and see how they perform.
They should be retailing
within a year from the time
they make their collections.”
Sindi added that people
should not be afraid to make
their collections and send
them to different parts of the
country.
“Even the areas that we
think are economically dead.
A person can make garments
in a garage in Mthatha with
four seamstresses, creating
the most beautiful clothes
that end up in
Luminance in
Johannesburg.
We are wearing
things that
we don’t even
know where
they came
from.
You can
impact your own community
from where you are and give
back right there by just being
commercially active, retailing
where there is more commercial
activity. You don’t need to
come here and suffer. So that’s
the whole framework.”
Sindi said he was also not
from Joburg and that the best
advice he had for people was
to always work from where
they lived.
“At the end of the year, the
interns must be commercially
viable. When they start to see
it themselves, the commercial
activity, they start to believe
that this is a real thing.”
One such designer is Wendy
Matiwana. The East London
designer said she was now on
a higher level since she started
the programme last year.
“We were advised, branded
and received creativity from
everyone and, most importantly,
help from all sides. I was
able to really do what I wanted
to do with a vision.”
Matiwana is now working
on her women’s wear brand
that she will get the opportunity
to sell commercially.
While in studio with Sindi,
the students had the chance
to interact with branding and
communications specialist
Bonolo Diseko.
“We live in an age where
everything is digital. It’s easier
now to have an online platform,
as it serves like a verifier.
People will find out about a
brand, but if it doesn’t exist
online, it almost seems as if it
is not legitimate.”
Diseko said in order for
the designers to reach a large
number of people, they had
to have an identity that would
ultimately set them apart from
the others.
Ati Setipa said the programme
made her realise how
comfortable she was in the
Eastern Cape.
“It’s a whole different ball
game this side. I want
my brand to
make women
feel beautiful,
regardless of
their backgrounds.
My
clothing should
unite them through its beauty.”
Upcoming Fashion designer Jack Masimzukise wants to help his community by learning everything about the fashion trade. Picture: Nhlanhla Phillips
Another student, Jack
Masimzukise, hails from Dimbaza.
His approach to the programme
is to plough back to
his community.
“I wanted to learn everything
from pattern making and
manufacturing because I want
to own a factory. Where I come
from, all the factories were
closed down.
“Government kept promising
to open them again but
they never did and thousands
of people lost their jobs.”
His hope is to see his hometown
thriving again.
Onke Ludidi said he wanted
to be an original and make his
own materials.
“I want to have my own
material for my own designs
that will be unique from the
rest. My clients from Bhisho
want their own designs that
set them apart from the rest.
If I have my own materials, I
won’t get copied and will avoid
shortages.”
The students will
create their garments and
showcase them to their peers.
The Buyel’Ekhaya Fashion
showcase will take place on
December 15. Its theme will
be “Going Back to Our Roots”.
The emerging designers will
showcase alongside internationally
renowned designers
– the Eastern Cape’s Laduma
Ngxokolo, David Tlale, Thula
Sindi and Gert-Johan Coetzee,
and Mozambican designer
Taibo Bacar.
The main music festival
will take place on December
17 at the Buffalo Park Cricket
Stadium in East London and
will feature the likes of Oliver
Mtukudzi, Amanda Black,
Zahara, Black Coffee, Vusi
Nova and more.