🌍 3 key lessons from Cape Town's unofficial fashion week

Hello again ,

News & jobs await below, but first, let’s talk about something.

The fashion week that was (and could have been)

If I ever needed more proof that together is better, it was the last week I spent in Cape Town, a coincidental collision of key events involving brands from West, East and Southern Africa, all in the week of 4th-10th November.

First, the calendar regulars: Kat Van Duinen’s annual fashion show with the Norval Foundation, and Me&B’s now annual fashion show/year-end spectacular.

Then, the maturing and increasingly popular Confections & Collections shows, curated by Twyg for the Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel (who blended the event with their grand 125th birthday bash).

Finally, the brand new ROOTS Cape Town by LHAUDE Africa from Lagos, a travelling B2B/B2C fashion pop up making its first trip South with Merchants on Long after a 3 day event in Accra earlier this year. [Catch the 2 ROOTS talks I moderated here and here.]

The result of all this overlap was incredible local and global exposure and audience cross-pollination that, with some strategy applied, could yield the kind of impact that creates and cements unmissable stops on the fashion calendar. Here’s what I learned:

Being together isn’t working together.

There was a lot of value in simply being gathered in the same place, but how much more could we have created with some coordination?

This was the centre of several conversations I had over last week, particularly with the Mount Nelson’s Gabrielle Palmer. She and her colleagues had executed a hotel brand trip around their event schedule (4 daily fashion shows followed by a combined 5th and the big birthday party) that featured a key European influencer, two British editors of uniquely relevant niche titles, and a high-profile American stylist.

It was completely by chance that their walking tour of Cape Town included ROOTS; tour leader and designer Sindiso Khumalo would have stopped in at Merchants either way as it’s a must-see if you’re introducing people to African fashion in Cape Town (and she had launched a collection with them a week before).

4 events doesn’t seem like a lot, but consider:
- The two week-long items had packed schedules with multiple clashing appointments.
- The sheer scale of the two single-night events (the Kat Van Duinen show alone had a reported ±500 guests).
- The Afrilabs tech & innovation conference and the EarthShot prize were also in town (how did everyone pick this one week?), and there was some key guest overlap with both.

Coordinated planning would mean fewer clashes, cohesive & intentional inclusion, and more introductions & potential business for everyone involved.

There are WAY more willing collaborators than gatekeepers.

I’m going to be a little harsh here: A (large) number of us need to stop whining about the gatekeeping and focus on the work of community building.

Make it a point to build genuine business relationships (they do not have to be close friendships) where you can share what you’re up to, ask for support, and also offer as much help as you are asking for - and yes, you do have something to offer.

Trust has been dented, yes — you help someone with an introduction or deal access and they drop the ball, damaging relationships you carefully built over time. Or a collaborator or trusted mentor shortchanges you on a key opportunity, in the form of project credit, cash, or anything in between.

How do we fix it? By accepting that human beings are flawed, and not letting that stop us from building trust anyway.

The key thing is to build trust first, ideally before you work on things together. Go to that event and make positive small talk, have that agenda-less coffee meet up, talk about your process, your work and your perspective online.

If you do all of that and you are still finding it difficult, there may be some unique obstacles, but — more harsh truth — it’s time to take a good look at whether you are a good project partner, putting your hands in to get things done, and bringing a point of view with substance to the table, instead of letting distrust and insecurity drive you to leave your best ideas at home.

Connect within and without.

You don’t just need to get to know the designer who’s done what you want to do — you need to connect with the developer whose new tech could change the game for you and the designer you’re looking up to.

You need to join regional and national business associations and learn about export compliance from people in other industries. You need to meet people in hospitality, a huge growth area for fashion right now — the Mount Nelson now has a Sindiso Khumalo designed tea set & an upcoming Thebe Magugu collab (that’s still shrouded in mystery after 2 years of hints — I think it’s hotel staff uniforms). You need to mix with your friends’ friends, so you can meet the corporate business manager who’s always loved fashion and could be your perfect business partner.

And sometimes, to kick off connection, you really need to start by asking how you can help. Again, you do have something to offer. The main thing I’m good at and try to offer in every conversation is a problem-solving boost. I try to connect people to someone I know who might be able to solve an issue, or just help them think through the problem to find their own solution. Your perspective and specific experiences could unlock a lot for someone else.

That’s my rant. What do you think?

PS, a couple of people want to get to work on intentionally co-creating a bigger version of last week in 2025. Any ideas on what to add, how to organise, etc are welcome — just hit reply. Nothing’s in motion just yet, but it would be great to hear what you think of the idea, especially if you are not based in Cape Town (what would make it worth flying in for?)

Across Africa

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That’s all for today — thoughts?