The BRICS+ Fashion Summit business program features more than 200 speakers from all over the world. They are fashion industry professionals who set the trends for its development in their relevant regions. We asked some of them to size up the Summit’s impact on BRICS+ emerging markets, to talk about fashion development trends in their countries and the contribution made by the textile and garment industry to their national economies.
The BRICS+ Fashion Summit is very important for emerging economies and the Global South. When the agenda for BRICS Business Councils were drafted, cooperation in fashion was left out, and nobody considered partnerships in the fashion industry. Yet, it appears that we have a model event here. I believe that the organization of the first BRICS+ Fashion Summit was outstanding.
By harmonizing the markets of the countries participating in the summit, we could trigger major trade deals. When the current leaders were building up the fashion market, the Global East and South were omitted. I do believe it is time to correct this mistake. France and Italy, which dominate this industry, fail to understand the cultural practices and apparel of the East and South, when they could simply include us in their trends and we would then all benefit as a unified fashion market. This is not happening, so we need alternative steps and solutions.
Soweto Fashion Week has been held since 2011. There are more than 700 fashion designers in our country. I would say the most interesting are Thebe Magugu, Esther Mahlangu, Laduma Ngxokolo and Rich Mnisi, as well as the Sun Goddess brand. Promising young brands include MacGale and Enhle Babes Couture. Overall, the country’s garment and textile industry does not contribute much to its GDP. Its share dropped from 0.59% to 0.22% between 1994 and 2022. Most factories focus on work wear and school uniforms. So designers who want to produce something original are forced to set up their own factory processes from scratch.
