South African Fashion Week 2025

Lifestyle: SAFW Spring & Summer Collection (SS) 2025

If you asked me what the best integration anywhere in the world is, I would tell you, "turn to art and culture".

And what's more cultural than fashion?

This year, yet again, I showed up at the South African Fashion Week and was pleasantly surprised by the colours, shapes, and creativity of the Spring and Summer Collections. All sponsored by Cruz Vodka (and more, of course).

Am I a fashion enthusiast? Not quite. Perhaps you could say I love colours and textures, and am one in the making.

And let's be honest: I love playing dress-up with a pretty drink in my hands even more.

A big part of the SAFW attendance is "what do I wear?"

Luckily, the invitation gave a theme for the night, and this year's was "Old Money".

What even is old money? In my humble opinion, it means dress like you've been here before. And there I went, with a leather corset and a silk skirt.

Time to cosplay as a fashion blogger!

The show extends over three days, and Friday featured the SS collections "Imphepo" by SIXX6, "Urban Camo" by Naked Ape, and "Catastrophism" by the BAM Collective.

All special in their own way:

Imphepo wears its name very well. It refers to African sage, a healing indigenous plant and the very muse of this collection. The earthy tones make a lot more sense after some research: beautiful bohemian designs, voluminous and ruffled skirts, asymmetry, and hand-dyed fabric. My favourite piece has to be the Pumla Licca-Rose adjustable lime dress.

Urban Camo was a very expressive collection. I sense a lot of dandyism in Shaldon Kopman's expression of streetwear. He prides himself on using biodegradable materials, and I am proud to say I could spot the high-quality cotton and linen from my seat.

Catasrophism, on the other hand, is an explosion of vivid colors, classy and rich in shapes. Leather, Organdy, Nylon details on beautiful satin, denim... A very feminine collection that made each model look like a walking flower (can you tell this was my favourite?)

Needless to say, I will be back (will I? The tickets are sold out) for the autumn and winter collections!

But let me leave you a sneak peek of the runway below:

SAFW SS25

What about you? How do you connect with other cultures? Let me know, I write back ;)