Corporatising for the Benefit of Brands and the Industry

One of the many things that always get me excited when I look at the South African fashion and even entertainment industries is how entrepreneurs within these sectors are waking up to the realities of business, albeit at a slow pace. In conversations with various people within the fashion industry the debate about the lack of business acumen, the emphasis on creativity at the detriment of commercial gain and all of those things often comes up. There should be a balance between creativity and business. The creative cannot... I repeat... cannot be both the creative director in their business in addition to being their own PR manager, business manager, accountant, etc, etc. Fashion is a business at the end of the day and in every business within any industry, profitability is the only path to sustainability.


I was thus delighted to receive the news that a South African fashion brand owned by and targetted at young people, with an ethos based on the aspirations and the essense of urban South Africa have hired the services of Public Relations company Brand Ambassadors, itself the brain child of a young South African by the name of Thulane Hadebe.
It can only be to the brand's benefit to have professionals running their affairs. We've seen many brands rise and fall and one can only hope that this one in particular will be one of those we can look back on, in a decade or so from now, to say these guys were smart enough to seek the correct path in building their brand. They can one day serve as an inspiration to others and also realise their own motto; "Live Progressively".

Pic: Headhoncho.co.za