SAFW Student Competition Exhibition - 2025
- Betty Phanzu
- 30 oct.
- 2 min de lecture
Hey Besties! Welcome back!
Have you heard of the wrong bag theory? No?? You're not chronically online???
Sorry, my bad.
The whole point is to throw your outfit off balance just enough to cause intrigue, with a handbag. I guess the line between taste and madness must be pretty thin.
When I saw the email about the SAFW student competition exhibition, naturally, I wondered what the HECK I would even wear to browse through carefully curated cotton shirts on the 24th of October. They had already cancelled the Autumn & Winter show, and I needed an excuse to look at pretty things, so yes, I left my house for that.
While pondering, I stumbled upon this article by Kgomotso Masebuko:
Then it clicked!
Remember the pink crochet handbag? That little quirky thing I made from scratch? Well, it would be the culprit for the evening.
The tips to nail the trend are simple:
Start with contrast, not chaos
You mean a playful pink bag, paired with tailored pants, a cotton shirt, and a leather corset? Tick!
Trust your instinct
I think I just diiiiid... Tick!
Confidence is key
I did give myself a pep talk in the mirror (bienvenue chez les fous <3). TICK!
As an academic, I love putting theory into practice. So I will let you be the judge of my eclectic experiment:
Now back to the Student Competition Exhibition. The talent in the South African Fashion Industry is breathtaking. I'm not just saying it to be palatable; the student finalists were diverse, with inspiration drawn from their background, their spirituality, nature, and their respective muse.
When someone can turn a baobab into a V-neck top, weave cotton into a corset, or hand-dye fabric with soil from the cemetery where their mother rests, that’s when fashion becomes storytelling. Needless to say, I was deeply moved.
We (because, of course, I went with a good friend) held a lengthy conversation with Leeroy Esbend, the SAFW CXO, who was generous enough to spend time on each piece and provide us with a rundown on what I mentioned above. If I could be a fly on the wall while the students were losing their minds over their projects, I would. Partly because I know how hard it is to bring an idea to life, and because I give myself little self-taught fashion homework with deadlines, too.
Below is a sneak peek of my favourite pieces from the finalists, just for you besties.
What do you think? Should I reach out to the students and have a yapathon?
Let me know, I write back ;)
I came from the students post and i must say, making a plain white shirt this impressive is challenging. They all did amazing. And your bag theory worked! The bag was a fashion statement itself. I hope someone asked "where did you get that?" because that would have been an interesting ice breaker 👌
Do reach out to the students for fun and also for deeper understanding of their creative and themselves from where they came from.
It will be more humane.
Work well done. 💐