Free State Fashion Week (FSFW) has turned the catwalk into a digital runway. This week the Bloemfontein-based company has launched an online platform that promises to dazzle fashion lovers despite lockdown.
According to FSFW CEO, Candy Smith, in a period of suspended events, their digital offering will help designers reach audiences from their homes. “The Covid-19 pandemic has affected how we do business as we know it. Free State Fashion Week and its stakeholders have felt the wrath of the pandemic tremendously and with the nationwide lockdown there won’t be large gatherings to showcase to anytime soon,” she explained.
The FSFW online world includes a detailed, behind-the-scenes look into what it takes to put together the event; designers take us behind the inspiration of their previous collections and their journey with FSFW thus far, and how they’re making it work in spite of the pandemic. The platform will also include master classes with renowned local and international designers.
One such designer is Charissa Williams, a Welkom native who has won numerous awards, including Fashion Designer of the Year 2017. Audiences will get a glimpse of her fashion roots while she inspires designers to be creative and adaptive even in uncertain times.
“I’m a behind-the-scenes kind of person, so I hesitated to share my story. My desire is to make clothes and not to be in the limelight but I was made aware that my story is a continuation of the Williams name. Growing up, I received my first sewing lessons from my grandmother and father and so I represent them,” said Wiiliams.
Williams is grateful to Candy Smith for her moral support as she felt stuck at the beginning of the lockdown until she gave Smith a call. “She told me she was manufacturing masks and I should do the same. I now manufacture masks for mines, which I feel is a contribution to the fight against Covid-19,” said the designer.
Smith encourages Free State designers to join the platform and be innovative during this time as a way to maintain their livelihoods. “During this difficult time, I want to encourage fashion entrepreneurs to stay positive and hopeful, knowing that their God-given talent will carry them through this difficult time where a lot of entrepreneurs are without hope.
Fashion entrepreneurs are able to manufacture and make ends meet through the high demand of masks and protectives gear. Please, utilise the platforms we are currently curating to assist you in your business ventures and hopefully stay afloat”, Smith emphasised.
Tune into FSFW on its social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well as their YouTube channel.
Nomaqhawe Mtebele
