March 23, 2006
By Lucille Davie
SEWAFRICA is one of 39 finalists in the Proudly South African Homegrown Awards 2005. The awards are now is their second year.
Sewafrica is a training hub for the fashion industry, focusing on the informal sector.
In all, 12 awards will be given out in six categories: company of the year, product of the year, service of the year, innovator of the year, exporter of the year and bridge builder of the year. Sewafrica has entered the bridge builder category. About 193 entries were received for all six categories, from 29 companies.
"We are proud to announce the second year of the Proudly South African Homegrown Awards," Manana Moroka, the Proudly South African chief executive, writes on the campaign's website. "These awards recognise the achievements and economic contribution of campaign members to job creation and economic development.
"These awards are the leading showcase for South African companies and organisations which are innovating, achieving and excelling - and in so doing, contributing to economic growth, employment creation and the enhancement of the reputation of South African products and services," she explains.
Sewafrica has been a major catalyst for the redevelopment of the eastern part of the inner city, says Rees Mann, the brains behind the revitalisation of the city's fashion district, 20 square blocks starting at Von Wielligh Street.
It is housed in a seven-storey building, finished in some of the colours of the flag. "The vision for the building is simple - to create a focal point within the Johannesburg inner city fashion district that will become the nucleus of the creation and promotion of potential African designers and lead the way in making Johannesburg the capital of fashion in Africa," Mann adds.
"For us this is a big thing; this is nothing for the big corporates with lots of money. We have bonded our houses, put everything up as surety - we've put everything we've got into this."
This side of town has been a fashion hub for half a century, although there was a downturn in the early 1990s. Now the area is buzzing, with hundreds of tailors and seamstresses producing garments, either individually or as part of small factory operations.
Revival of the area
In an effort to drive the revival of the area, Mann, who has been in the industry since 1981, following in his father's footsteps, established the Johannesburg Sewing Centre in Pritchard Street in 1994, creating the biggest garment accessories supplier in the country.
The Fashion Shack - 136 Pritchard Street
He then opened three more stores: a pleating store called Pleat It, a bridal hire and accessories store called Mama Rose's Bridal Boutique, and a sewing machine repairs and spares store, Singer/Brother Superstore.
In 2002 he embarked on his most ambitious project for the area, establishing the Sewafrica Training Centre, a hub giving training to the informal fashion trade, improving their existing skills and introducing them to new ideas, along the way learning the basics of design and illustration.
After a one-year bridging course at Sewafrica, potential designers are then equipped to go on to formal tertiary institutions to obtain a formal qualification. Sewafrica has accreditation from the long-established City and Guilds of London Art School.
Once they graduate, young designers can rent a package deal in the hub, providing them with space for creating their designs, access to pooled machinery and equipment that they would not otherwise be able to buy, changing rooms, a display area and administration facilities such as secretaries, telephone, fax and boardroom facilities. Mann says these facilities would otherwise cost the designers about R90 000.
Each floor of Sewafrica accommodates different levels of expertise. Designers are encouraged to tie up with a micro CMT (cut, make and trim) business in the district, thus developing all aspects of the clothing chain. "The idea is to encourage the designers not to do mass production. We want them to market themselves and their designs," Mann said in 2004.
And to provide the graduates with a forum to show their work, Mann has a fashion show and exhibition venue on the basement floor of the building, called The Fashion Venue. There is also a café at street level, called The Fashion Café, where students can meet and exchange ideas.
In June 2004 Mann opened the Fashion Shack, a store where designers can sell their designs to the public. But it is unlike the usual fashion outlets: here customers can meet the designers and give them specifications for garments they want made up.
One of the designers in the Sewafrica building is Bongiwe Walaza, who has signed up to design a casual denim range for Edgars, to be in the shops in April. Another coup is an order for shirts from Bolivian President Evo Morales, who admired her design on President Thabo Mbeki, during his visit to South Africa in January.
Mann has also managed to persuade top designer Clive Rundle to move into the district - in 2001 Rundle took 500m˛ of factory space. The district also offers space to designers from other African countries, such as Ivory Coast, Ghana and Senegal.
The Johannesburg Development Agency has driven the revival of the district for the City. So far it has pumped R7-million into the area, and in the coming year expects to spend a further R5-million in the district with the creation of a Fashion Square and Fashion House.
Judges
The awards judges are from the business and trade union sectors, the government and the community.
"These judges will be looking for companies and organisations that have truly taken the Proudly South African concept to heart, and that reflect the tenets of the campaign in their local content, focus on employment creation and environmental responsibility, emphasis on quality and, of course, their use of the Proudly South African brand," Moroka explains.
Mann explains the Sewafrica building, "The colours utilised in the building were taken from the South African flag - an acknowledgment that we are South Africans, for we believe it is the 'African' in each."
The award ceremony is likely to take place in April.
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