South Africa’s official Buy Local campaign Proudly South African celebrated its 21st anniversary in style this week, with a star-studded fashion-meets-music extravaganza which celebrated the organisation’s birthday and their contribution to increasing awareness of the importance of buying local.
Hosted at The Forum in Bryanston, Johannesburg, the fun-filled evening was in the form of a fashion show which saw four members of the public walking the catwalk showcasing designs by local designers including Sello Medupe of Scalo Designs, Mapholo Ratau of Ledikana, Biji Gibbs of Biji La Maison de Couture and Hangwani Nengovhela of Rubicon.
The fashion show was the culmination of Proudly SA’s Local Fashion Police competition, a consumer competition aimed at creating social media awareness on South Africa’s fashion. The four winners each got R20 000 of uniquely designed local fashion from these designers, courtesy of Proudly SA.
Guests were treated to a surprise performance from kwaito legend M’du Masilela who performed his all-time hits Local is Lekker, Mazola and Dipabi among many others. The fun-filled evening saw some of Mzansi’s well-known and loved personalities from across different sectors, including media veterans Dan Moyane, Shado Twala & Nothemba Madumo, Candice Modiselle, Zizo Tshwete, Nhlanhla Mafu, Bokang Montjane-Tshabalala, TT Mbha, Theo Nhlengethwa, legendary actor Jerry Mofokeng wa Makhetha, Lesley Mofokeng, queer extraordinaire Thami Dish and the evening’s MC, Sipho Alphi Mkhwanazi.
Tshwane-based DJ DaLootz finished off the evening in true South African style taking the audience down memory lane with a nostalgic set of the best of South African from the past 21 years.
“We are very honoured to have celebrated this very important milestone with individuals and organisations who were very essential to the growth and success of Proudly SA, and we are certain more than ever that tonight we’ve gained more ambassadors for the buy local movement,” says Proudly SA’s CMO, Happy MaKhumalo Ngidi.
“Through this celebration and many other events, we hope to demonstrate to South Africans from all walks of life how easy it is to live lekker locally. From the time one wakes up until they get back to sleep, we can all choose to wear local, eat local, drive local and so much more,” she adds.
South African music is without a doubt very dynamic, and this is evident in the evolution of our local music hits over the past 21 years from Kwaito, House, and Jazz to Gqom and amaPiano. With all the talent we have locally, we must support our local artists and take pride in their craft because they are creating jobs with their talents.
Ngidi adds: “The creative arts sector contributes immensely to our economy, it is therefore imperative that we support this industry to create more jobs and sustain the ones we already have. We need to support the events created in this industry such as fashion shows, and music festivals which in turn support other fields in the sector such as make-up artists, stylists, hairdressers, MCs, and production crew”.
Proudly South African thanks all South Africans for heeding the call to buy local to create jobs. We urge everyone to continue doing that during this festive season and beyond.
