Pose.ZA

EDITOR'S NOTE

Finally the day has arrived. This is our First Big Issue for Pose – FTL and we are so proud. The hours that have been put to make this issue, hard work and dedication, I have no words. This is the first time in our lives that we are so nervous about anything that we were sceptical of publishing this issue and resorting to find a stupid excuse not to do so but after everything was edited, proof read, sharpened and the final product was right in front of us, we had no choice but to be proud of ourselves.

The Cape Town Fashion Council article is the root cause for all of this, meaning, the blog and the awaited website. It has always been one of the topics that I have always wanted to digest as I do not see the point of having an organisation like CTFC and seeing nothing come out of it. As I have stated when stating the blog, Pose is all about fashions truth and lies, exposing South Africans fashion industry. We reinvented glamour as our New Kid on the Block “Aneesah Jacobs” strutted her flawless body and structured face ( those high cheek bones) with garments that flaunt her body perfectly. As you'll see her with a body suit wrapped in Fur and statement neck-piece. She has a fresh new face that the modelling and fashion industry should notice. We bring a new twist to columns, with Confessions of a FashionWhore. This column will rotate every month as we let our readers confess about their love for fashion, the passion and sacrifices they make. Street Diary showcases a few fashionable people walking in Long Street. I hope that everyone will enjoy reading and please do feel free to comment and follow us here or like our page on Facebook: Pose. With that said, let the games begin.

...........................................

CTFC:

what’s the purpose?

General understanding is that the Cape Town Fashion Council was born to be a spearhead in the revolution of fashion within the Western Cape region and also the greater South African sphere. To credit it a bit, it's safe to say some movement has been made and some changes have been apparent. However, when we look at their mandate, mission and vision, is it clearly evident

that what is on paper is what is happening?Given the benefit of the doubt; we all know things don't happen overnight and most scenarios within Fashion are seasonal therefore leading to certain ideas only being born further down the line, they have been rather slow, aloof and most notoriously elite about their existence and mandate.

I was once introduced to the Cape Town Fashion Council (CTFC) some years back. While it was still under the guiding light of Stephanie Viera, a young, petite lady with a sharp intellect, fierce humour and a sort of poise about her. I met her through a friend who was working with CTFC when it started. There was light, guidance and energy then. I enrolled for a few programmes, was on their mailing list and attending some 'key' workshops, which back then, were extremely hard to come by and were usually left for those with the finances or contacts in their little black books. Back then, their system seemed to work. There was much visibility and the CTFC staffing was eager to assist. There was a line-up of designers signing up with them and they were shuffled and set into

workshops and programmes to help fast track their careers and give them the necessary foundations and support structures to make their careers work.

I know two designers who have profited with great upstarts due to those efforts made by the CTFC team in the beginning. But where are they now? With a change of offices, change of leadership and a restructuring of the support team, CTFC seems to have disappeared into the background. Now we hear more about Africa Fashion International (AFI) instead of CTFC, and this is prominent in Cape Town too. Not just Johannesburg. But it's not to say that new CEO, Bryan Ramkilawan, is the cause of this sudden silence and over shadowing. It was happening a few years before he took over.

It would seem that the only visible activity CTFC has at the moment is their annual CTFC Annual Industry Conference which is usually held at Design Indaba. A conference where discussions around progress on Fashion and what the future holds are held. Introductions between designers, buyers, exporters and retailers are made and only the few get to leave with a smile on their face. One needs to remember, this conference which is set to be an important one for all those involved in fashion is hosted during a design conference that only a select few have access to. So where would this leave the designer who has no budget to pay for the

ticket to get in on the conference? Or the small CMT owner who funds his business with his personal money and needs the access to these business minds but does not get it because he does not set the criteria for entry to such an event? There were talks and introductions to events such as Fashion Fridays; Fashion For Business Discussions and Creative Coffee Mornings. What happened to these initiatives then. Who is attending them if they are still active. One Creative Coffee session occurred in October and there has been silence since. What do we do in this instance? What about the newsletters that have stop arriving in the mailbox? Who will resolve this query?

Since 2006, CTFC has set itself a standard to represent the industry, develop its talents, support the infrastructure and its designers and workforce and grow the designers, industry and economy. How have those goals been met? Can we pin-point specific ideas or initiatives that have been implemented that reflect the proactive showcase of these goals? One of CTFC's strategic goals is to develop and support designers through initiatives such as carefully identifying key stakeholders that match the

designers and share the same vision. Do we have success stories that reflect this strategic goal? Who have we disclosed such information to? Sure, being an avid fashion lover and follower I would have come across some form of story that reflects this goal as achieved by CTFC. Some of the key programmes within CTFC include Policy evaluation and Development, and Facilitating Linkages with Key Industry Stakeholders to invest in Emerging Talent. What policies have been evaluated and how have they been further developed? What about new policies? Which have been developed and implement or passed by government? SA Fashion Week in conjunction with ELLE SA hosts Mr Price ELLE New Talent search every year to single out one new outstanding emerging talent. Is CTFC in there to try and assist the designers who do not make the cut to win the titled by

introducing them to potential investors and stakeholders? In my most recent experience with the CTFC, I made contact with them to

attempt to get a list of arts and crafts people who work with leather goods. My friend and I have some designs we'd like manufactured for personal ownership and use and the crafters would be paid for their services. I'm yet to get the names and contact numbers from CTFC's Bianca. No one ever seems to answer the phone and emails seem to enter a phantom

mailbox in cyberspace and never garner a response.

And I'm not the only one to experience grief with CTFC. People have personally gone to the offices to find no one there or to find that everyone is too extremely busy to assist with a 5-minute query. And if you ask the people on the streets who are fashion savvy and have dealings with people who have mini markets and pop-up stores that support emerging markets, well, it's simple. CTFC does not have the time to assist with endorsements or guidance on how to make such events successful and develop longevity.

So what does the CTFC actually have time for?□

By: Monde Mtsi

.............................................

Glamour re-invented

.......................................................

Confessions

Of A FashionWhore

BOttle green classic jacket, Mandrin Collar, and gold buttons. A new addition to my vintage collection. While walking with my BFF(fashion editor) Anam on the streets of Mowbray to catch a taxi to Langa, to fetch my makeup bag and his phone from the previous night out with the “girls” at our mutual friends boyfriends house, we stumble on some vintage clothing sold by this old lady. With a cigarette on my hand and a headache like no other, never would I have imagined to find something that we both have been looking for from our usual vintage store to be hanged in a fence, carelessly, with every fashionable human walking past it without being drawn to its detail.Soft cotton, with dropped shoulders, not fitted and just above my ass, this classic cut jacket draw me to this old lady. First question was how much it is, as I did not have cash with me. Presuming that this lady is selling these clothes on the streets, hundred rand would be my limit for negotiation, as this is what we usually do when vintage shopping. I looked into her eyes while saying this, waiting anxiously for her reply, with one foot already facing the fence to run and grab it. She looked at me with a smile and looked away and when her eyes met mine for the second time, her lips moving slowly, I was not able to grasp what she was saying.

I looked at Anam and asked “what is this woman saying”, she repeated herself and said “its twenty five rand”. Me being blonde as usual, I asked her “ as in twenty rand and a five rand?”, she just looked at my amazement as if I getting Burberry quilted coat.

I told Anam already five feet from him, running, to follow me as I ran as fast as I could, throwing the cigarette on the floor, firm gripping my hand bag, to rush to the atm. Got the money ran as fast as I could back to my soon-to-be new fetish. Of course Anam was not able to keep up and I left him right there, while running the only thing on my mind was teaming up the jacket with my high waisted, wide leg, oversized turn-up beige pants with my yesterday’s fetish, oversized shark-mouth with elongated tail black blouse and of course black, if not brown brogues.

Gave the lady her money and thanked her will my all mighty as I walked away to meet Anam standing by the taxi’s laughing at my blonde moment, which I usual have every next 5 hours. Sitting in the taxi, all I could think of was how much I love, adore fashion. To run like a mad man because of a jacket that obviously no one is going to buy within 5 minutes of me going to the bank, shows my dedication and trust to fashion. We tend to put blinkers on our faces when we get that one thing that you’d expect to pay expensively for, when you get it much, much cheaper than you’d expect it to go for. The only thing in your mind is “when am I wearing it with what”. Fashion rules the world, whether you want to accept it or not. Fashion Industry has become the biggest industry to be followed and feared. It all boils up to if you’re ready to take a piece of it with you or watch everyone else enjoy it.

....................................................

STREET DIARY