'We tried to unite the country, but people just see safari guides'

Nompumelelo Mjadu, Sipho Lushaba, Mbali Zulu and Sandile Sikhakhane remain unshaken and coolheaded despite widespread criticism of their design of the SA Olympic team apparel.

The four emerging fashion designers responsible for the active wear that team SA donned during the opening ceremony for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Friday worked closely with Mr Price Sport.

They received the honour after they were selected last year as the Durban Fashion Fair Rising Star winners.

But the safari-inspired looks that were meant to unite the nation have instead divided it. Many have criticised Team SA on social media, likening their outfits to that of farmers because they are deemed “dated, uninspired and uncool”.  

“We did our best and we cannot please everyone. I’m currently working on my summer collection and my focus is there rather than all the negativity,” said 27-year-old Lushaba, born in Soweto and based in Durban.

“My concern is people knew about the looks from when there were unveiled two months ago and we did interviews about it. People didn’t give us this kind of feedback then.”

According to the designers, they got a brief from Mr Price Sport and the athletes in February. Within a month they got all the approval needed to have the final looks made.

They drew some of their inspiration from the Madiba shirt and how Nelson Mandela wanted to unite the nation through sports. They designed their own animal print that incorporated the Big Five game animals and Protea, SA’s national flower.

“We designed according to brief. Perhaps if we were given a different brief we could have taken a different approach,” said Mjadu, 32, from Empangeni.

“The brief said we should design something that will represent South Africa’s cultural diversity and we mustn’t pick one culture or one group of people. So we tried to unite the country, but unfortunately people don’t see it like that. They just see one side of SA, but at least they see Kruger National Park.

“We are taking some of the criticism because there are some valid ones that will build us as young designers. I’m very excited and it’s a huge thing for a young designer like myself. For me, it means the start of my business and my portfolio is growing.”

Sikhakhane helped a lot with the print because of his graphic design background. The 27-year-old from Ndwedwe is the son of late artist Gabisile Nkosi.

“I’m just trying to see the positive within the negative. I want to take this opportunity and get to do workshops to show others that this opportunity I got they can also have,” Sikhakhane said.

Established fashion designer Craig Jacobs, renowned for his sustainable clothing label, Fundudzi, said while it was important to give young talent a chance, mentorship was also important.

“From the rehashed animal-print-against-the-flag socks and the game ranger shorts, it all didn’t fit together. From a cohesive point of view it looks like it wasn’t thought through,” Jacobs said.

“When you get inspirations, it’s ideal not to have more than two references. They needed to pull it back to its essence and unpack it a bit more.

“It’s always good to give young people a challenge. I wonder, from a mentorship point, who was helping. But I think young designers deserve to be given a chance. Their talent needs to be nurtured and molded.”