JOHANNESBURG — The clamor for a separate men’s fashion week had barely died down last season when the first South African Menswear Week was set for February 2015. Envisioned as a biannual event, owner and cofounder Ryan Beswick called SAMW “the first dedicated men’s fashion platform in Africa.”
Taking his cue from what he regards as the world’s leading platform, London Collections: Men, Beswick limited the participating designers to 25 emerging and established names. The event took place over three days during the first week of February at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfont. The lineup included well-known industry labels such as Craig Port, Fundudzi by Craig Jacobs, Naked Ape, Maxhosa by Laduma and Palse Homme, as well as new talents like Rich Mnisi of Oath, Lukhanyo Mdingi and fashion editor-turned-designer Chu Suwannapha, who all showed their fall collections.
Beswick also chose intimate show venues and mandated clean, simple show productions so as not to take the focus away from the clothes. Eventually, he would like SAMW to serve as a platform from which leading South African designers showcase in London, both as a drive to build exports, as well as increase awareness for these designers back home in South Africa.
“The time has been
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