[Insert Fashion Here] | #4, 2020 | Support, Support, Support 💖

Finally!!! She exclaimed to no one in particular.

Today, the long read is up first, not last.

It's been a hectic few weeks: 2 back to back, quick-turnaround print magazine assignments with a BAD flu in between (a normal one), a couple of columns, an art review for a friend, hacking away at some flu symptoms that just never left — I have half a pharmacy in my flat right now — and leaving the house even less than usual, because social distancing, because somewhere in the middle of all that, a global pandemic reached us.

Just when I was on my way back to normal productivity levels, the early-onset cabin fever (a real shock for this homebody) and our super distracting news cycle have turned that upside down. That's not ideal, especially for a freelancer, but in the larger scheme of things it really doesn't matter. I'm much more concerned with the general public getting enough accurate information and state assistance to stay safe and healthy. I am also concerned with individual citizen actions we can take above and beyond social distancing, which is THE MOST IMPORTANT, to keep the health system afloat all the way through this and protect the vulnerable, mainly the poor and the immunosuppressed. I think the South African government has acted sooner and more decisively than most, and that's encouraging. A neighbour has offered to go shopping for the elderly in our building, which I think is lovely. I might join them once I'm sure my health is at 100%.

Meanwhile, AFI cancelled the last day of Cape Town Fashion Week, SAFW is going digital, fashion students are among the thousands being sent home from res as campuses shut down (if your school hasn't closed, I'd like to talk to you!), everyone's graduations and awards are cancelled/postponed/online, and like all small businesses independent designers (here in SA that's, like, all of them?) are doing everything they can to ride this out for themselves, their staff and their supply chains. Independent/freelance creative professionals like myself, whose cash flow is a joke under normal circumstances, are also understandably out of sorts.

It's hard not to be stressed with so much on the line, so I won't tell you to not to be. I will say though, that staying calm while you collaborate (from a distance) and get creative to adapt to our new circumstances for the foreseeable future is the most positive and effective approach I can think of for handling this. I am gratefully embracing the peace of God right now, and I'd like to support our industry in any way that I can. I am keeping a list of restaurants/cafes + local designers to try to buy from as I get paid for my last few gigs (after my bills + savings), I am looking out for proactive charity initiatives to support with donations or get involved in if safe to do so, and I'm writing. I couldn't write all week because nothing seemed to matter, but after the friends and acquaintances and clients I checked in on this week told me my hopefulness was helpful to them, I thought I'd try.

I think what's below might help too, as inspiration, solutions, or distractions. If there's anything in particular that you think I could help with, on my own or in the newsletter/on instagram/in my writing gigs, let me know at [email protected]. [I finally set up a domain email — small victories.]

Today, we're talking opportunity - competitions, incubators, and funding galore! So forward this to any and every young designer and small fashion business you know of that might be looking for support. Early stage support programs don't get enough praise; they are incredibly hard to come by in the creative industries, and even rarer outside the US and Europe. When run and used effectively, they can change a young designer's life & business.

I'm often inspired by Fashion East's Lulu Kennedy on this subject, because no one does it better in my humble opinion. Fashion East's home, London, reigns supreme when it comes to programs designed to give graduate and emerging designers a leg up, as I pointed out in my story for Fashionista. That's helped along by how responsive the industry is to new talent in London compared to the other capitals: recognisable editors, stylists, writers, buyers and executives regularly attend the graduate shows there, and that doesn't happen elsewhere unless you know someone. It's why a Brit is the fairy godmother of all emerging designers: Long live Sarah Mower. Anyway. On to business.

Graduate + Emerging Designer Competition

I meant to include the MRP young designer competition in the pre-pandemic version of this newsletter, but that closed on the 6th, so I only have 1 for you: Cosmo & Foschini's Future of Fashion competition! R50,000 and a year of mentorship are up for grabs, along with your winning design being featured in Cosmo and sold at Foschini! Among other requirements, you have to be a citizen between 18 and 30 and be able to construct a garment from start to finish. SAFW's New Talent has also closed, and I'm excited to see the winners of all 3!

Designer Support

Exhibition space, incubator spots, a potential new stockist and emergency aid funding below.

• The African Fashion Foundation, formerly the African Fashion Fund, has partnered with Europe's long time champion of African designers, Vogue Italia (Thank you Sara Maino!) on Scouting for Africa 2020, now open to all African designers until June 30th 2020. The prize? A coveted spot on the Palazzo Cusani exhibits during Milan Fashion Week this September!
   

• The Cape Town Fashion Council has opened applications for a Cluster Incubation Programme across 2020 and 2021, offering mentorship, technical assistance, equipped facilities, and other resources to help designers bridge the gap between micro-brand and sustainabile business. It's a full incubator, so expect the application process to match — requirements are different depending on whether or not you are past the 2-year mark, but you have to be 21 and you have to have started your brand.
   

• Via Twyg Magazine (Instagram): A debt relief fund and a business growth & resilience facility for SMMEs were announced today by the minister of Small Business Development Khumbudzo Ntshavheni as a support intervention in the wake of the pandemic. All details will be available on a dedicated site going live on Tuesday the 24th - www.smmesa.gov.za. This is for everyone, so share it around beyond fashion brands, especially to small cafes, B'nB's, travel agents and restaurants in hospitality & tourism. There will be paperwork and possibly some long processing: enrolling on the platform, proving eligibility, etc, but all obviously worth it.
   

• You know it's real when I'm praising Facebook: A small business grant program was announced yesterday by FB/IG, and will apparently be available in all 30 markets where they operate. I assume that means us, as they have offices here and Johannesburg is their continental HQ. It's not live yet either, but you can sign up for further details at the link above for now.
   

• The African Developmental Bank's Fashionomics Africa, set up to support the textiles and fashion industry across the continent, piloted a digital marketplace in November that may help you reach new audiences. It's now officially launched, alongside their app. If you're a consumer, it may help you find new African brands to support through this time, and if you're a designer, setting up shop may be worthwhile. Prices are listed in USD, so be prepared to update your line sheets accordingly.

On Building Brands

It sometimes seems impossible to build a brand people can actually find and connect to and fall in love with in our saturated world, but from Warby Parker to Away, new brands do it everyday! Even Glossier didn't exist a few years ago, and now look! I think emerging designers first need to believe it's possible, and then strategise to make it happen. Strategy/planning are always a good use of time, time that most struggle to set aside, time that some can now afford to spend away from the spinning wheel of sales, all things considered. Vogue Business wrote about how to build a recognisable brand in a time when it seems like all the brands people care about have existed forever, and I think it's a great read.

Also: Kayli Vee Levitan, a brand writer, strategist, and creative director, just wrote this great piece that offers social media guidance to stressed business owners — check it out if you're not sure what your community management should look like right now.

One more: Li Edelkoort weighed in on the pandemic's effect on consumer brands in a lengthy but worthwhile interview with Dezeen, which was actually written from Cape Town where she was stuck for her self-imposed quarantine after the Design Indaba, due to European travel restrictions.

Aaand that's all.

Buuut also, here are a couple of stories I've had published since we last spoke:

- The special REVAMP 2020 issue of House & Leisure is out, and I'm in it! This is Living, my piece on the future of home life as influenced by macro trends shaping the worlds of architecture, design, and lifestyle, is on page 13.

- An introduction to resale, for Aurora Sustainability (thanks Mimi!)

- That art review I mentioned earlier was for one friend —Two Point Oh's Mandy Nash — about another friend — ORMS Circle Artist 2020, Yonela Makoba. This is A Recipe for Tangerine Waters.

That aside, I hope this has all been helpful and encouraging. I'm back on IG stories now after what seemed like a year-long hiatus (it was barely 2 weeks, I am a mess). I'm sharing what I can to help us all stay positive and informed, and would be happy to chat over DM if you're struggling with that. I'm also having the time of my life watching the last of the TiK-ToK resistant millennials give in as boredom strikes. I might even make one this week!

Keep well, stay safe. Thanks for reading.