Township Style with Global Ambitions

South Africa has a penchant for dressing up and showing off: whether it's the glam of blinged up Johannesburg, the deceptively laidback hipsterdom of Cape Town or the explosion of street style coming out of Townships like Soweto. And as the country's new fashion industry finds its legs, many local streetwear brands are striving to establish a truly South African identity—albeit a cheeky one.

The popular, provocatively-titled Darkie label was founded by Pretoria-born Themba Mngomezulu, whose only previous fashion experience was watching his mother run a successful second-hand clothes business from their township home. Founded in 2002 and now based in Cape Town, the label has achieved widespread success across both geographical and racial divides by mischievously tinkering with taboo subjects and creating some very wearable designs. Hoodies come emblazoned with the names of townships such as Gugulethu and Khayelitsha, while T-shirts play with icons such as Nelson Mandela (with an afro comb sticking from his hair) and Michael Jackson. The label has national distribution via the YDE chain, international distribution in Germany and the Netherlands and has just opened its own store in Cape Town.

Based in an area of Soweto that's nicknamed "Baghdad" for its high crime rates, Thesis is another young label, one of a number that are actually being created and sold in the townships. Similar to Darkie, the trio of friends that started the label has limited fashion training but a gift for riffing on local iconography. Themes are localized around Soweto, with T-shirts featuring the painted cooling towers that have become the Eiffel Tower(s) of the township and the minibus taxis that transport millions of Sowetans on a daily basis. The entrepreneurial zeal of Thesis' founders has led them to open their own store in Soweto (proudly based in a shack), and they've already appeared on the runways at Joburg Fashion Week.

Earthquake, created by Joburg-based designer John Sithole, is another new brand that matches Darkie's attitude but swaps provocative slogans for fashionista edge. The 24-year-old Sithole's big break came from winning a local reality TV show Fashion Your Future (not unlike Project Runway), though he'd already put in time at fashion school and working for the progressive, independent label Strangelove. His style is anchored in denim and sportswear but he brings in more tailored elements and cues off of international trends to create unlikely, and often impressive, hybrids.

Sithole's label still has a way to go, but he deserves notice as one of the country's new breed—designers who retain a local urban edge while borrowing creatively from the global fashion scene. And with the 2010 World Cup around the corner, South Africa's vibrant street style may soon have a chance to make its mark on the international stage.

—Daniel Pinch