Luxury fashion can go deeper than gorgeous fabrics and interesting silhouettes. Can it also be used to tell conceptual exciting stories about identity? Prize-winning South African designer Gugu Peteni uses her designs to speak volumes.
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00:00They love dykes.
00:06These luxury garments are more than just beautiful, they communicate.
00:10The fabric, the cut, the silhouette, it all tells a story.
00:15How and why is fashion a sign of identity?
00:17Let's find out.
00:20I chose fashion to speak about identity because it's a universal language.
00:27South African Gugu Bedeni designs conceptual fashion and has just won the Africa Fashion
00:32Up competition in early 2024.
00:36What makes her collection?
00:37Echoes of Self, the winner.
00:39When I heard about Africa Fashion Up and the platform and opportunity to go to Paris and
00:44showcase during Paris Fashion Week, obviously it was like a daunting idea to enter.
00:49So the idea of Echoes of Self is the idea that within one person we carry all these
00:54personalities.
00:56So winning Best Young Designer means a lot of doors opening.
01:00I have a six-month mentorship with Balenciaga.
01:03And again it goes back to that young girl at 17 years old who seemed to be next to those
01:08brands.
01:09However, the big dream came with a condition.
01:13A collection for Paris Fashion Week, 12 looks to be pre-financed and completed immediately.
01:19To do a whole entire 12 look collection in one month is nearly impossible.
01:28Gugu likes challenges and the struggle of life even grounds the concepts of her designs.
01:33But before we find out if the Paris collection was finished on time, let's have a look at
01:38how Gugu managed to become a fashion designer in the first place.
01:41Between 12 and 10 I started sketching and I used to sit for hours and just draw clothing.
01:46So obviously telling a black parent now that you're going to be a creative and study art
01:52was a crazy, crazy idea.
01:54I was an A student, so obviously as parents I'm sure they had all these high hopes of
01:59like a doctor, an engineer.
02:02And then here comes little me and I said that I want to study fashion.
02:07To say my dad lost his mind for a bit is an understatement.
02:12Why does fashion have this special power for her?
02:15I'm one of a twin and my sister and I were always compounders.
02:19So when you're a twin there's this sense of loss of identity.
02:23For me clothing then came into play because it became this is a vehicle that has the power
02:27to do so much more than just getting dressed in the morning.
02:30I can communicate with people, people can understand me through it.
02:34Some children's dreams have the makings of reality.
02:37Before we find out if Gugu's understanding of self and stories finally made it to Paris
02:41Fashion Week, we have a look at how her family history led her to deal conceptually with
02:46identity.
02:47When I got the opportunity to do this Paris Fashion Week, I obviously had to come up with
02:55a collection and be inspired by something.
02:58And the ideas of Echoes of Self came to me.
03:01I was going through my family line, both my mom and dad, and I was thinking about every
03:05single member, all aunts and uncles have English names.
03:08How did this apartheid era legacy of having an African name and an English name influence
03:14Gugu creatively?
03:15We are walking around with different personas that all exist into one and this idea that
03:21you're this person, but all of yourselves are sort of speaking and entertaining.
03:26Gugu's name means proud of in Isekosa.
03:33How did she interpret the idea of dual identities in her sweaters?
03:38So this one I think probably would be the best sort of like direct personification of
03:43the Echoes of Self, because you see the sort of the person as a whole, but he's broken
03:47up into different segments.
03:50So I would describe this one as like the internal conversation that comes with idea of dual
03:56personalities or multi personalities, and then the branding of Gugu, Gugu, Gugu.
04:00But then for me, it's a reminder of having even myself in different spaces.
04:06Gugu's sweaters tell a story.
04:08But why does she make them from mohair?
04:1050% of the world's mohair is produced right here in South Africa.
04:14And we have the best landscape to farm the goats, which is in the Kuru.
04:18I love mohair for all its wonderful and unique qualities, which is durability, luxury, niche,
04:24but the most important part of it obviously is a sustainable factor.
04:28I am able to source locally, produce locally, manufacture and spin locally.
04:33Nevertheless, the question remains, why did Gugu choose clothing as a means of communication?
04:39And not to forget, what about Paris?
04:43I think what makes fashion so special for me is it's physical, it's textural, that all
04:48that processing for me is so beautiful, and I think that's why I choose fashion.
04:53Finally, the moment arrived for Gugu to present her story about identity in France.
04:59How was it received?
05:00It was extremely nerve-wracking.
05:04In fashion, you get to learn how to work well under pressure.
05:08When the models hit the runway, for me it was really a moment to say, wow, it really happened.
05:20The collection was a success, and I think it's because people can really identify with it.
05:31After Paris, I am definitely feeling determined.
05:35I feel like before we had a goal, we had a dream, but there was no reality or test.
05:41I feel like now that I have a toe in, I want to get the whole foot in.
05:45From 2025, Gugu's designs will be in luxury clothing stores in Paris.
05:50Her garments will tell stories of identity way beyond Africa.