Oh, the dirty thirties. Like most of us panickingly approaching the big three-zero, South African Fashion Week (SAFW) is pausing for a big reset. The organisation announced it will sit out the coming season, framing the decision as a “recalibration” — seemingly less an identity crisis and more a chance to overhaul old habits and routines.
In its official statement, SAFW said the break would allow it to “integrate research, knowledge, and insights gained over nearly 30 years into a new, future-ready model”; one that remains “connected to the Global North” but better suited to the South African market and the Global South.
Founder Lucilla Booyzen echoed that in an interview with the newsletter Africa Fashion Decoded: “After 28 years ... we could see that the traditional model of fashion week no longer reflects the pace and the pressures of today’s fashion landscape ... This is a recalibration, a springboard for what comes next.”
With the luxury industry slowing down worldwide, rapidly changing consumer behaviour and growing interest in African fashion, is this reset coming just in time or 10 years too late?
For Carlyn Davies, a natural resources lawyer, African Fashion Guild board member and Fashion Revolution ambassador, the gap between visibility and viability is SAFW’s biggest issue.
“SAFW is the link between designers’ talent and their viability as a business,” she says. “But it doesn’t always translate into financial growth.”
Davies is also critical of the event’s handling of “sustainability”. “The word gets thrown around with no substance. Past sponsors produced new-talent ranges overseas, in synthetic fabrics, in quantities that later had to be discounted. That’s the opposite of sustainability.”
Award-winning creative director and stylist Thobeka Mbane echoes those frustrations. Having attended every season and even curating her own showcase of Johannesburg designers at Cape Town’s SA Menswear Week, Mbane agrees the platform is vital for discovery, but simply out of reach for many designers.
“Affordability has become a real problem. Some designers are already struggling to fund their collections, and then they’re expected to pay R40,000 or more for a single show,” Mbane says.
"The cost of showcasing is simply too high for many designers, especially those who are not yet profitable. Some brands are too established to qualify for the young designer competitions but still can’t afford the full cost of a show, leaving them caught in between.”
She adds that the structure of sponsorships locks out opportunities. “Some brands have sponsors willing to back their shows, but SAFW won’t allow it unless the sponsor funds the entire fashion week.”
From the content-creator side, Ricci Kalish, founder of fashion rental business Big Bad Batch, says SAFW has a proud legacy but risks irrelevance if it doesn’t evolve.
“They’ve introduced us to the likes of Thebe Magugu and Rich Mnisi, but lately it feels like the same names every season,” she says. “I want to see intentional retail partnerships that help designers after the runway lights are off.”
Kalish points out that some designers are moving to smaller, boutique platforms that feel more responsive. “I think their fault lies in the politics of it all. Government support and funding seems to barely exist. And each season we have different, more random sponsors than the one before.”
Booyzen told Africa Fashion Decoded that SAFW would return in January 2026, with a new hybrid model integrating digital tools, industry feedback and deeper value-chain support.
“The runway remains a powerful storytelling tool,” she said, “but we are exploring how it can work alongside new formats. Our goal is a platform that champions resilience, originality and sustainability.”
SAFW isn’t alone in dealing with marginalisation. Globally, fashion weeks are under pressure as designers experiment with off-calendar shows, digital launches and smaller showcases. Even in luxury meccas such as Paris and Milan the traditional calendar feels increasingly archaic.
The luxury market itself is in crisis thanks to slowing sales, rising costs and cautious consumer demand. Consumers, meanwhile, are frustrated with a revolving door of (mostly white, mostly male) creative directors, cash-grab partnerships and a noticeable decrease in craftsmanship and customer service.
Some South African designers have already seen the writing on the wall. If not showcasing overseas, many brands have turned to independent showcases, pop-ups, fashion films and direct-to-consumer drops, which are proving more affordable, flexible and better at driving sales and nurturing relationships.
So what should SAFW look like when it returns? The answers from insiders are strikingly similar: rethink fees and allow more flexible sponsorship models; create guaranteed pathways into retail, production and supply chains; and get creative again: interesting venues, bolder collections, more diversity in models and designers.
“Sometimes you need to stop and go back to the drawing board,” Mbane says. “But when SAFW returns, I hope it’s with the excitement and boldness that made it matter in the first place.”
SAFW has been the stage where many South African designers got their first big break. The January 2026 relaunch will show whether this pause truly was a recalibration — or simply a missed opportunity.
As Davies puts it: “The next step has to be more than a copy of other fashion weeks. It has to make sense for us.”
