Ramped Up: Coming out the closet

15 January 2015 - 02:07 By Andile Ndlovu
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SOLDIERS OF STYLE: Craig Port's spring/summer collection was shown at Cape Town Fashion Week - it will be back on stage at Menswear Week
SOLDIERS OF STYLE: Craig Port's spring/summer collection was shown at Cape Town Fashion Week - it will be back on stage at Menswear Week

Meet the new South African man - he fusses about the tailoring of his suit, knows exactly which mirrored scarf goes with his outfit and even "likes" Burberry's Instagram pictures of the Carryall bag from the label's new autumn/winter 2015 collection.

He'll be chuffed to know that the profile of local menswear designers and designs will be getting a boost, thanks to the inaugural SA Menswear Week in Cape Town, which is joining a handful of cities - Milan, Paris, London and Toronto - to inaugurate a men's fashion event of its own.

News from SAFW of the menswear week, which will run between February 4 and 7, comes while London Collections: Men is in the middle of its fourth year (London Fashion Week is more than three decades old). In Canada, Toronto Men's Fashion Week ran for the first time last August.

Designers in Cape Town will include Craig Port, Rich Mnisi, CSquared, Magents, Jenevieve Lyons and Chu Suwannapha.

Designer Paledi Segapo will bring his Palse Homme to the ramp and believes these developments come at the right time.

"Menswear has taken a dramatic shift, both locally and internationally," he said.

"Our men have become confident about wearing locally made apparel, including bespoke wear, and the market has shifted the landscape of business and how men dress in general."

Ryan Beswick, founder of SAMW, says: "It's not only about providing and building a platform where designers can showcase their collections, but also provides a sound business case, with marketing and promotion opportunities for designers to grow their businesses."

According to figures in the UK, the market for men's fashion has grown by 18% in the past five years and is worth almost £13-billion (R227-billion) - projected to reach around £16-billion or so in 2018.

In the US, men's fashion is estimated to be worth more than $400-billion (R4.6-trillion) and growth has outstripped women's wear in the past five years.

But local industry expert Siya Beyile says big groups, including Edcon, are not investing their resources in local brands.

"Having a menswear week will elevate it commercially, which is how women's wear has progressed," he says. ''It will put designers , fashion buyers and press in the same room."

  • menswearweek.co.za
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