In the News | 29 November 2022

Twyg's Sustainable Fashion Award winners, growth in South African retail and global fast fashion's resale fallout.

Guests with host Jackie May at the 2022 Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards | Tash Singh

Hi everyone,

I've had to start my wind down for the year a little earlier than expected due to some health challenges. That's the main reason for the lack of newsletters in November, which I apologise for. If I can, I'll do another before the end of the year, but whether or not I'm able to, I wanted to say thanks for reading throughout 2022!

While I'm working on my health, I'm also spending some time planning 2023, so if there's a business question you'd love for AFWeekly to find some answers for, please let me know. I'm looking forward to making headway on some of the bigger questions and stories I didn't get to this year, and I hope they'll be helpful. God willing (and health dependent), AFWeekly should return mid-Jan 2023.

To the main event (news has piled up over 3 weeks, but I've cut a bit):

Africa

Adeju Thompson's Lagos Space Programme follows Thebe Magugu and MmusoMaxwell as the latest African brand to be named a Woolmark Prize finalist.

Bluemarble, Rhude and Robyn Lynch among Woolmark Prize finalists

The Woolmark Prize, which has been running since the 1950s, has propelled some of fashion’s most promising talents to success. 2023 finalists include rising stars from the UK, Denmark, South Korea and Nigeria.

Vogue BusinessCondé Nast

SAFW | Eunice Driver, Eunice Driver Photography

SA Fashion Week's pop up returns this weekend (2-4 December) to get small, independent brands (that are underrepresented in local retail) a slice of the festive season spending pie at Mall of Africa. 2021's pop up generated a reported 3-day total of R263 066.00 in turnover for 44 participants.

Guests & host Jackie May at the 2022 Twyg Sustainable fashion awards | Tash Singh

2022's Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards were handed out, with Cleo Droomer's pivoted brand taking home the coveted Changemaker prize.

AFI's runway event returned to Johannesburg with a selection of designers and brands from across the continent, and the SA Style Awards celebrated talent across the country's industry.

AFI Fashion Week 2022 highlights pan-African fashion

Fashion lovers descended upon the Diamond Walk in Sandton, Johannesburg to partake in AFI Fashion Week Joburg 2022...

BizCommunityBizCommunity

SA Style Awards winners announced!

The South African Style Awards celebrates individuals who have, in their respective career fields, disrupted the creative process of business...

BizCommunityBizCommunity

Journalist & researcher James Hall, whose career has been a study of Africa, invites African fashion professionals to add key names, dates and events of seminal development to his Calendar of African History.

AFRICA TODAY/Yesterday: The Calendar of African History

Today: from the mists of pre-history to the wonders of now. Here on this calendar, the story of humanity’s birthplace unfolds, day by day. Not just the when, what and who, but the how and why.

The H&M Sustainable Production Africa Summit, a recent Cape Town event hosted by the Swedish fast fashion giant, brought retailers and suppliers with an interest in fostering a sustainable-yet-competitive South African clothing manufacturing industry together for dialogue.

H&M Sustainable Production Africa Summit: Conversations on circularity

When will H&M start manufacturing in South Africa? That’s a question country manager Caroline Nelson gets asked repeatedly...

BizCommunityLauren Hartzenberg

Source: Stats SA

Stats South Africa published new data on Black Friday and the pandemic's impact on South African shopping habits, with comparisons made against 2019, considered the last 'normal' year of trade.

Lagos Fashion Week makes headlines for its impact on the African fashion ecosystem.

The Impact of Lagos Fashion Week on the Growth of Small Fashion Businesses in Africa

We examine how the flagship Nigerian fashion calendar event facilitates the breakthrough of emerging designers in the African creative industry

The Folklore Editroniomi

Inside Africa’s leading fashion week

Vogue Business went backstage at Lagos Fashion Week to hear from African designers about what styles work and how they plan to play on both local and international levels.

Vogue BusinessCondé Nast

Kenya and Ghana have come into focus as the end of the line for the environmental fallout of the Global North's fast fashion habits, highlighted once again in headlines after luxury resale leader Vestiaire Collective's site visit in Ghana resulted in a fast fashion platform ban (LinkedIn editor Aaron Toumazou rounded up industry commentary on the decision).

On the front line at fashion’s final dumping ground - Apparel Insider

Spread the loveNAIROBI – The chaotic used clothing markets in the towns and villages in and around Kenyan capital Nairobi … Continue reading “On the front line at fashion’s final dumping ground”

Apparel InsiderBrett Mathews

Fast fashion is ‘choking Africa in dead White people’s clothes’

H&M churns out three billion garments a year, but only recycles 10 percent of them. The rest is shipped to developing countries, but are too poor of quality to wear so they are tossed in landfill.

Daily MailStacy Liberatore

Vestiaire Collective bans the resale of fast fashion on its platform - TheIndustry.fashion

Vestiaire Collective is to ban the resale of fast fashion on its global platform as part of its mission to “fight fashion waste”.

TheIndustry.fashionLauretta Roberts

Resale distancing from fast fashion | LinkedIn

Vestiaire Collective’s decision to ban fast fashion listings signals a clampdown on resale greenwashing.

LinkedIn NewsLinkedIn News

At COP27 in Egypt, stakeholders across fashion, gaming and other parts of the creative sector were asked how they could contribute to reaching climate goals. The panels, hosted at the UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub led by Massamba Thioye, included a session on how the fashion industry can contribute to creating systemic change.

Laduma Ngxokolo tells Vogue Business how his brand's international footprint is growing and shares plans for taking on the continent's luxury market.

After breaking out abroad, Maxhosa Africa wants to be the leading luxury brand at home

South African designer Laduma Ngxokolo explains how he is building Maxhosa Africa for the international market and unveils how he plans to break into Africa’s untapped luxury market.

Vogue BusinessCondé Nast

David Tlale has been accused of sexual assault and professional exploitation and harrassment by Sindile Zack Dudumashe, a former member of the designer's communications team. Dudumashe shared the allegations on Instagram in a statement that details how he left both the brand and the industry after 3 months in the role where the alleged abuse took place, 3 years ago.

David Tlale denies sexual assault allegations

Instagram user, Zack, alleged in a lengthy post that he was drugged, sexually abused and professionally exploited by the veteran designer

Tshisa LIVEConstance Gaanakgomo

Retail

Jumia's new leadership has begun making changes to chart a course toward profitability, starting with staff cuts and the suspension of underperforming services and features.

Jumia changes board and CEOs step down as it renews focus on profitability | TechCabal

Francis Dufay has been appointed as acting CEO by the supervisory board while the search for a permanent CEO continues

TechCabalDaniel Adeyemi

The ‘Amazon of Africa’ is reducing staff and ending its Prime service

Jumia is ending its ‘Prime’ subscription service for being “too early” for Africa.

QuartzThe A.V. Club

A 10% increase in Fashion/Beauty/Home turnover and significant growth for the woolies dash platform are both good news for South Africa's Woolworths, ahead of plans to bring their clothing to their on-demand delivery platform.

Big growth for Woolies Dash

Despite the disruption caused by load-shedding, Woolworths reports its food business run-rate has improved.

MyBroadbandStaff Writer

Pick & Pay clothing launches its first South African designer collaboration under the new Futurewear initiative.

Pick n Pay Futurewear: Accessible designer fashion made in South Africa

Forming part of Pick n Pay Clothing’s localisation journey, its Futurewear initiative has the added goal of nurturing emerging creative talent and fostering the growth of the local design-led clothing industry...

BizCommunityLauren Hartzenberg

A slate of new malls across South Africa offer fashion retailers an extended physical footprint for more access to shoppers.

A look at 4 massive new shopping malls that just opened in South Africa

South Africa has no shortage of shopping malls, with four new major projects being completed in the country within this past week, opening their doors in the same week.

BusinessTechStaff Writer

A look at the new R200 million shopping mall being built in South Africa

Work has commenced on a new shopping mall project valued at R200 million – with solar installations as part of the plans.

BusinessTechStaff Writer

Credit utilisation is up at MRP as inflation pressures consumers.

Mr Price sees spike in credit demand, as customers come under pressure

Despite a 10.6% increase in the interim dividend, shares fall over 7%.

MoneywebAkhona Matshoba

TFG reports early successes at Bash and continues to invest in its future with talent development fellowships.

One of South Africa’s biggest retailers has an answer to SHEIN, Amazon and Walmart

The Foschini Group (TFG) is making a big play into e-commerce and the mobile shopping space in South Africa

BusinessTechStaff Writer

Online sales boom for Foschini Group in South Africa

The growth comes after TFG launched a new omnichannel fashion and lifestyle shopping platform in July 2022, called Bash.

MyBroadbandStaff Writer

TFG invests in scarce and critical skills for the future | Businessinsider

Leading fashion and homeware retailer TFG has established a fellowship to fund outstanding young South African students in the field of data science to accelerate the development of one the country’s most scarce and critical skills.

BusinessinsiderSponsored Content

CIAFE's Frederica Brooksworth shares 5 predictions for the fashion industry's future of work.

Global

Elsewhere, scrutiny of fast fashion's sustainability efforts and the wider industry's environmental reporting standards and tools continues, virtual fashion shifts focus from the metaverse to video games, the CFDA awards lead headlines.

LVMH Is Opening a Research Center That Will Focus on Sustainable Materials and Biofuels

The overarching goal of the new center will be to get rid of plastics.