Jozi and Kapa Enter Fashion Capital List. What now?

David Tlale

Global Language Monitor, a U.S. based non-profit group that tracks the frequency of words and phrases in the media, on the Internet and throughout the blogosphere has renamed New York as the fashion capital of the world, ending Milan's 5 year reign. What, for me, is most notable is that Johannesburg and Cape Town are new entries on the list of fashion capitals at no.23 and 25.

Personally, I think bloggers must be credited for this feat as we- yes, we- cover fashion weeks in this country far more extensively than mainstream media. Beyond that, however, this is something we ought to take seriously. The local press, bloggers and fashion observers of all kinds need to sharpen their pencils and apply the needed pressure on designers and all stakeholders to hike their game up a notch. If we are to go any higher on the list and hopefully- like the Asian countries and Australia, who rank quite high- find one of our cities in the top 10 (actually, lets even push that to top5, ain't nothing wrong with dreaming and working towards making it a reality) ass-kissing fashion observers need to be a thing of the past. A spade must be called a spade and the tolerance of amateurish fashion on our catwalks must be dealt with decisively. How else will designers realise that they need to sweat blood if needs be to get even an ounce of recognition, not only at home, but globally?
It doesn't end here. The hard work must now begin!