In August 1997 - launch of the inaugural South African Fashion Week showcasing the collections of thirteen designers over five days to all round acclaim in a 500-seater marquee on Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, the country’s dynamic commercial heart.

The Italian fashion industry is a prime example of how a well-coordinated and government-supported fashion industry can blossom into a major economic force. Generating €66.6bn in 2019, it is among the top industries in Italy.

Ecological sustainability, women’s empowerment, inter brand collaboration and proudly local production investment are some of the dynamic developments that mark SA Fashion Week’s 25th year in business. SA Fashion Week recognises the pivotal role played by its corporate partners, collaborators, and supporters in sustaining the creative fashion design industry.

SA Fashion Week set out to change a situation that needed to transfigure into a new culture. In the final decade of the pre-democratic era, shifts were happening in all spheres, including the clothing industry.

The 17 designers who showed at the inaugural SA Fashion Week, in 1997, became pioneers of a completely new way of viewing and engaging with fashion. For the first time, they showed integrated and comprehensive collections of their own and independent creative vision.

There are so many paradoxes that exist in the world of fashion. They reflect the great choices that we are confronted with in our brave new world.