In a groundbreaking initiative that signals deepening cultural and creative industry ties between France and South Africa, the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) recently hosted Fashion Forward: Industry Development Dialogues, a pioneering two-day programme focused on strengthening South Africa’s fashion sector.
The dialogues, which took place on 25 and 26 November 2024, brought together an influential mix of French and South African fashion experts to explore practical ways to support local fashion businesses and contribute to implementing South Africa’s Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) Master Plan.
“These dialogues represent a crucial step in understanding and addressing the needs of South Africa’s fashion sector,” says Dr Cynthia Stella Khumalo, Acting Director-General at DSAC. “By bringing stakeholders together intentionally, we can begin charting a collaborative path forward for growing local businesses.”
The programme featured renowned French fashion practitioners Frédérique Gérardin, Amedi Nacer and Louis Orlianges, who shared insights on innovation, craftsmanship and market-oriented strategies. Their participation, supported by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, enabled deep engagement with the realities faced by practitioners in the South African sector.
A key focus emerged around sustainability in fashion, with industry experts including Jacendra Naidoo and Jackie May exploring how to develop distinctly South African sustainable practices. As panellist Boitumelo Pooe noted, “Consumers who buy sustainable fashion choose to align with their core values such as prioritisation, planning and habits over exclusivity, functionality and aesthetics.” This insight highlighted the importance of consumer education in building a more sustainable fashion ecosystem.
Reimagining Fashion History
The dialogues coincided with Fashion Accounts, a groundbreaking exhibition at Museum Africa that confronts the complex relationship between fashion, memory and colonial legacy. Co-curated by fashion designer Wanda Lephoto, curator Alison Moloney, and Dr Erica de Greef of the African Fashion Research Institute (AFRI), the exhibition tackles the challenging absence of black South African fashion histories within museum collections.
Set against the backdrop of Museum Africa’s extensive collections – including an ethnographic collection of 14,000 items and the Bernberg Costumes & Textiles Collection of 16,000 predominantly European fashion objects – Fashion Accounts raises critical questions about whose stories have been preserved and overlooked.
The exhibition features powerful new commissions by The Sartists collective, marking their tenth anniversary of reclaiming black South African history through photography and performance. Natural hair stylist Mimi Duma, known for challenging traditional hair academy curricula, contributes work that questions established beauty standards. Acclaimed designers Thebe Magugu and Sindiso Khumalo present pieces that bridge South Africa’s past and future, with Khumalo’s Jagger Collection paying tribute to the University of Cape Town’s African studies library, lost to fire in 2021.
The creative industries currently contribute over 3% to South Africa’s GDP and are significant employers of youth, people with disabilities, and participants in the informal economy. DSAC and IFAS have strongly committed to further engaging the fashion ecosystem and developing future projects to support the cultural and creative industries.
The convergence of the Fashion Forward dialogues with Fashion Accounts – until June 2025 – represents a significant moment in French-South African creative sector collaboration. Together, these initiatives signal a new approach to addressing both the practical challenges facing contemporary fashion practitioners and the broader historical contexts that shape South Africa’s fashion landscape.
