Mzansi Life & Style showcases the best that South Africa has to offer in terms of entertainment, fashion, lifestyle, culture, cuisine, travel, beauty and celebrity news. Subscribe to my website by adding your email address in the "follow" button below.
The Cotton On Group has long been loved for the brands and trend-driven value products that it has brought to South Africa’s shores, such as Cotton On, Typo and Factorie. Now, the retail group has taken its presence in the region further by investing in a R300 million custom-built new central office and distribution centre in Johannesburg, that will further enhance their customer experience. Beyond signifying a commitment to the country, the new premises are an extension of the company’s pledge to Doing Good in all areas of its operations.
I was part of a handful of selected media to attend a VIP walk through of the new facility, and I got to see just how massive an operation it is to house millions of items, and to satisfy customers when they “add to cart” and order online.
Ecological sustainability, women’s empowerment, inter brand collaboration and proudly local production investment are some of the dynamic developments that markSA Fashion Week’s 25th Spring/Summer Collections.
The SAFW’22 Spring Summer Collections will be showcased from 28 – 30 April, Parkade G5, Entrance 24 at Mall of Africa in Johannesburg.
Twenty iconic names including Ephraim Molingoana for Ephymol, Amanda Laird Cherry and Palesa Mokubung of Mantsho as well as cult Kasi brand, Loxion Kulca, now designed by Olé Ledimo, will launch their 2022 collections to the media, buyers, selected VIPs and a limited edition of public tickets through Quicket, alongside exciting new stars including 2021 New Talent winner Artho Eksteen as well as Fikile Zamagcino Sokhulu and Sipho Mbuto who both participated in the Fashion Bridges collaboration with Milan Fashion Week last year.
Hosted by SA’s favourite social personality, Maps Maponyane, the 24th New Talent Search will again open the event with a line-up of six of the most promising young designers to watch. This year’s contenders are:
Other highlights of the first day is the CRUZ COLLECTIVE featuring Sokhulu and Mbuto as well as another new generation notable, Michael Ludwig Studio.
Day two opens with TheOPPO COLLECTIONS which brings Artho Eksteen, Ezokhetho, the gender-neutral signature, The BAM Collective, and the much revered, Amanda Laird Cherry, together in a celebration of technology and perfection that will speak to OPPO’s Reno 5 mobile phone as the quintessential tool with which to capture the ethos of contemporary living as “the new spectator sport” which happens where everyone, everywhere engages, interacts, captivates and comments.
“We are excited to go into our second year of partnership with SA Fashion Week. This is an important partnership for OPPO, as it gives us the space to connect with our customers and it shows our commitment to empowering local talent through our technology to curate a line of sustainably resourced fashion that represents both the heartbeat and heritage of our country. We are looking forward to our second collection and what our designers will come up with this year. For us, it is all about the creative collaboration that translates South African culture into design, which is the essence of what the OPPO brand represents both locally and globally.” says Avashnee Moodley, Head of Marketing at Oppo South Africa.
This is followed by the high-profile trio of Cape Town-based Helon Melon who wowed audiences in 2021 with her all-white, sustainable collection, fashion forward Judith Atelier, an ardent supporter of South African mohair and perennial fashion week darling, Palesa Mokubung of Mantsho.
Organisers of the highly anticipated entertainment and lifestyle gathering, announced the return of the 3rd annual Cotton Fest, which is set to take place in March 2022 in Newtown, Johannesburg. The theme for 2021 is “university and campus” and the organisers have created their very own university of COTTON FEST campus through which the festival will offer a multi-layered university campus experience including a concert, merch, cafeteria, sport area and even lockers for you to store your personal belongings.
With the return of the class of COTTON FEST 2019 and the sophomores from 2020, together with the freshers of 2022, it’s almost time for the graduation of the Class of 2022 at The University of COTTON FEST.
Known for merging both established and upcoming South African talent, COTTON FEST not only showcases the diversities in music while fusing the gaps within the different local current movements. With the best South African artists expected to perform over 3 stages, this action packed two-day festival returns to The Station in Newtown on the 19th & 20th March 2022. Celebrating all South African talent, Cotton Fest not only showcases the diversities in music at large, but it also celebrates various lifestyle elements within our ‘culture,’ including fashion and sport.
THE CONCERT: The COTTON STAGE will feature headline and legacy artists. The Bettr STAGE will feature the New Wave of young talent. The Jägermeister STAGE will bring the best nights featuring House and Electronic talent, alongside some of the biggest names on the Amapiano scene right now.
SPORTS AREA: A half-court will be set up for basketball fans, along with a skating ramp for skating enthusiasts.
FASHION: Various merchandise hubs will stock unique pieces, limited branded fashion items and other sought after accessories.
CAFETERIA: Food Court will bring you a huge variety of delectable options and several fully stocked bars positioned around the venue.
MORE: There’ll also be photo booths set up for content creation as well as various chill areas to relax, recharge and reboot.
“Following the past 20 months that we have all lived through, we are humbled to be back yet again to make an impact in the entertainment industry. With the huge support and backing from artists from around the country, we are ready to kickstart the road back to normality in a positive way, and get the Creator Economy going again” says founder Riky Rick. “ With the industry currently flipped on its head, Cotton Fest, together with exciting partners hope to bring together the industry, and celebrate the graduation of the first class from the University of Cotton Fest 2022.”
In line with current government regulations, tickets will be limited to 2000 per day.
To ensure the safety of everyone attending the festival, ALL festival attendees – including all staff, partners and performing artists – will need one of the following to gain access into the venue:
Provide a personal fully vaccinated certificate (either printed or online)
Provide a negative PCR test, if only vaccinated with one dose, done within 48 hours of the festival (either printed or online)
Do an on-site Rapid Antigen Covid Test if you have not yet been vaccinated, which is available for R150 at the venue.
Tickets are on sale at Webtickets and Pick ‘n Pay outlets nationwide. Options include:
R200 Early Bird
R250 Day Pass
R500 Weekend Pass
R600 Merch and day pass package
This year, the University of Cotton Fest 2022 is proud to be in collaboration with Bettr.app – Africa’s first digital banking app for creators, by creators — and supported by lifestyle giant, PUMA, iconic Elixir brand Jägermeister and global digital payments leader, Visa.
Synonymous with youth culture in SA, the festival will be powered by none other than the iconic South African youth radio station, YFM.
For more information, please follow these social media handles:
Rookie USA is known for it’s love for helping children as much as they can. Their annual donations brighten even the dimmest of smiles.
Rookie USA partnered with well-known influencers and friends of the brand to contribute to the amazing donation of R50 000 to the Reach For A Dream Foundation.
“Reach For A Dream seeks to alleviate the strain that life-threatening illnesses place on sick children and their families by providing these dreamers with the opportunity to believe in their greatest wish. The Foundation has been providing dreams to children all around the country for 33 years and counting. These young children are under extreme pressure to deal with these medical issues and are in desperate need of encouragement. In addition, Reach For A Dream offers the child a magical moment to regain their childhood that is being lost to an illness.”
“The foundation is grateful to have partnered with Rookie USA in the journey to inspire, give hope, strength, and courage in the lives of our dream children” says Natalie Lazaris, Business Head for Reach for a Dream Foundation.
Rookie USA is a kids-only, multi-branded premium retail destination, now in South Africa. It is a retail experience focused on kids from the ages of 0-20 years old ranging from apparel to accessories and footwear. Rookie USA offers consumers a collection of iconic brands including Converse, Nike, Jordan, Hurley and Levi’s to provide a complete head-to-toe kid’s experience.
I first heard about the clothing brand Loxion Kulca way back in 2005 when I was the Assistant Producer for the SABC 1 show “Spirit Sundae”. Loxion Kulca sponsored our presenters’ clothing at the time and the duo that founded the iconic urban street fashion brand, Wandi Nzimande and Sechaba Mogale, were huge entrepreneurs.
PEP has announced that the latest collection from Loxion Kulca is now exclusively available in over 1,000 PEP stores, making this range more readily available to customers.
“We have rolled out this collection exclusively to most of our PEP stores nationwide, following a very successful pre-launch in a few PEP stores last year. We always aim to make fashion as affordable and accessible as possible and having Loxion Kulca in more of our stores will make this renowned brand more accessible to our customers”, says PEP Chief Marketing Executive, Beyers van der Merwe.
The original Mzansi township brand, Loxion Kulca, was co-founded 21 years ago as a brand by the people, for the people. As an iconic and proudly South African clothing label, Loxion Kulca is an important part of the country’s streetwear heritage, culture and fashion scene. The brand gave birth to a lot of movements and trends. Bucket hats, that have made their way back into fashion, are some of the items that the brand introduced and is renowned for in South Africa.
PEP continuously improves and evolves to stay relevant and partnering with a local brand such as Loxion Kulca is one of the many ways they are delighting their customers. PEP’s customers are at the heart of everything they do, which is why their biggest priority will be to offer enough options for everyone to look and feel good, everyday.
Check out the PEP Facebook and Instagram pages for more details about the collection.
Mzansi Life & Style by Mishkah Roman-Cassiem 