Yo what’s happening people. Shoutout to anybody reading, the journey we about to explore is bound to be lit. Incase you haven’t read my first blog post, I’m Ari, an emerging fashion designer who’s surveying into the South African fashion industry and culture to prove that we are indeed lit creatives and that there is a lot of hope for the future of South African fashion..

We gon’ start this journey off with my hometown, the 031, Durban. For those of you who live or have lived in Durban for over at least three years, you will find that Durban actually has A WHOLE LOT of brands, but only a few of them gain prominence among the others. In this blog I’ll be highlighting three of about five Durban-based brands that I feel are on top of the game. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

CENSORED

(all images above are sourced from @censored_za Instagram page) 😊

This is one of the most underrated brands by far! Even though it has some traction in Durban and is well known here and in other provinces as well, I still believe that it should be perceived as a brand that is higher than the category it’s been placed in and higher than the brands it’s been compared to (That’s just my opinion fam, agree or disagree if you wanna.)

Censored offers clothing for both males and females, has affordable prices, and is also well managed. In fact, the owner, Locklan Mtolo – whom I know personally – is a dignified hustler in every sense. He pushes his merchandise with the intention of raising the 031 flag up high and building bridges into other provinces too. That’s something that I can respect. If you’re tryna find out where to get some merchandise, check their Instagram @censored_za and you’ll be assisted.

VERSUS ORIGINALS

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Three words – FIIRE FIIRE FIIRE. Versus Originals are one of the Durban based brands that pay a lot of attention to what females want in clothing. The owner Kwanele, who is ironically male, loves to include models of all sizes, from thin to plus size in order to be all inclusive. And that’s what it has become, all inclusive beautiful clothing that makes people feel good and confident. This brand is however not a “brand for women,” it merely embraces the beautiful women we have in our country. Which is why I added the image of my homie and brand-promoting partner Playboii X, to show that dudes can also rock the clothing 😂 . I was actually present when the last two photos were being taken by my bro who is the head and owner of Saucininthacitii Television. Yo, check out Versus Originals, if you wanna cop it, see their Instagram @_versus_za .

IIINFINITY X BEYOND

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LIT LIT LIT! I would post more images but y’all gonna have to go check ’em out on Instagram for more posts. Having Nasty C as an endorser of the brand is probably the reason the fashion brand has been able to blow up to the great heights that it’s at and also become an 031 giant in the process. Their potential is well explained by the name of their brand – [to] IIINFINITY x Beyond – overlapping other brands that have been relevant in the past, and slowly died out.

It truly does take a lot to survive as a clothing brand in Durban, so I send MAJOR shoutouts to IIINFINITY x Beyond; Censored; and Versus Originals.

Eyo Family, thanks for joining my blog. My name is Thapelo, surname Masango, but I’m widely referred to as “Ari The Designer” as you would see from my Instagram page listed on my blog . I’m an emerging fashion designer born and raised in 031 region of DURBAN!! Yo, one thing y’all should know about me is that I love fashion and rapping (rap music in general); now before y’all box me into the “skrr skrr” category, why don’t you first get to know a little bit of me first 😂😂.  For those of you who don’t know, a “skrr skrr” is what I would think is a typical “traphead”- a person who listens and probably sings along to trap music. Even though many people do listen to (and probably do sing along to trap music) NOBODY wants to be called a “skrr skrr”  ⚰️⚰️ 💀. If you know about which typa people are called this you’ll understand  😂😂  .

Anyway though, we ain’t here to talk about skrr-skrrs, we are gathered here today in the name of Fashion! South African fashion more specifically! 🔥🔥 I will be highlighting some hella flyy South African brands that are really slept on and not noticed. Well… even though some technically are noticed, I still do feel as if they are really underrated. So that’s the person of the blog fam, I’m gonna be highlighting the fact that South Africa got some fire creatives in the fashion industry  . To do this I’mma start with a mini introduction of me.

This is me, last year. This photoshoot, amongst many others, that I did for certain Durban-based clothing brands is what made me realize where my passion stood. While upgrading my matric results to study Law this is what I would be doing as a hobby . I ended up noticing that I have a creative gift and could actually turn this fashion thing into a career, hence I dropped law and took up Fashion Design at Inscape Design College. CENSORED is one of the local Durban brands I will be speaking of in future posts. As for now, here’s a taste of some of the other photographs taken on the day by local photographer and entrepreneur “Saucininthacitii” of Saucininthacitii_television.

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Note: All these photos were taken in 2018.

My intention with starting this page is to let y’all know that there is still hope for the future of South African fashion. We have many pioneers and creatives that are creating fiire garments all across the country – its just a matter of them getting their work known out there. I will be covering various cities around South Africa that have fashion brands. I hope y’all enjoy the posts that follow! 🙂

This is one of the brands that I will be speaking of.