For almost three decades, South African Fashion Week (SAFW) has been the heartbeat of the local designer fashion industry.
Now, after 28 years of building and shaping this creative space, the event is taking an intentional pause.
This is not an ending but rather a reset, a chance to rethink how fashion weeks can work in a world where sustainability, fast fashion, and shifting supply chains are rewriting the rules.
Lucilla Booyzen, the director and founder of SAFW, describes the move as an important step forward. “I believe it is vital that we take a season to listen, think, and reflect together as a designer community and the industry at large, so that we can shape the best new direction and secure a thriving future for our industry,” she says.
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The timing makes sense. Over the years, SA Fashion Week has built a reputation as the launchpad for South Africa’s top designers, helping them gain both local recognition and international opportunities.
This pause is an opportunity to bring nearly 30 years of experience, research, and insight together to create a model that feels fresh, relevant, and forward-looking.
The goal is a fashion week that speaks to the realities of the South African market and the Global South, while still connecting to trends and audiences in the Global North.
SAFW is not stepping away from fashion entirely during this recalibration.
Designers’ stories will still be told, collections will still be shared, and creativity will still be celebrated through the platform’s digital spaces.
Shoppers will be guided directly to where they can find and purchase the latest collections, keeping the link between designer and consumer strong.
This season of reflection is about more than hitting pause. It is about ensuring that South African fashion keeps its edge, continues to innovate, and leads confidently into a new era.
With collaboration from designers, retailers, buyers, sponsors, and the broader creative community, the next chapter of South African Fashion Week looks set to be one worth waiting for.
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