Certified Tailors
G-Star RAW celebrates local tailors in three major Mzansi cities
a LOOKBOOK Studio production Art Direction and styling Charl Francois Edwards Photography Hayden Phipps
Last year, G-Star RAW successfully launched a pilot of their Certified Tailors program across the Netherlands. The tailors provide free G-Star jeans repairs to their customers, subsidized by the brand. Now, G-Star officially launches Certified Tailors in three cities in South Africa – Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg. We, as LOOKBOOK Studio were lucky enough to meet these tailors and shoot them in their studios across the country.
meet the makers...
Samkelo
Samkelo Boyde Xaba is a Johannesburg-based multi-disciplinary creative and founder of an ethical contemporary clothing brand that prioritizes sustainability, durability and functionality. Walking the line with his own RAW Responsibility, Samkelo uses natural, locally-sourced fabrics that are also sustainable, supporting our repair and renew initiative.
Dennis
Dennis Collins is an emerging clothing designer based in Cape Town. As a self-taught tailor, pattern-maker and designer, Collins seeks to invent products that are well-crafted and of the highest quality – a great match for the esteemed G-Star RAW Certified Tailors Program.
Sambelo
Sabelo Shabalala is a fashion and textile graduate based in Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal with experience in design, garment construction and alteration. He’s been in the fashion business for a little over 5 years and achieved industry success throughout. Sabelo’s passion for textiles is well aligned with that of a Certified Tailor.
Sambelo
Sabelo Shabalala is a fashion and textile graduate based in Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal with experience in design, garment construction and alteration. He’s been in the fashion business for a little over 5 years and achieved industry success throughout. Sabelo’s passion for textiles is well aligned with that of a Certified Tailor.
Furthering the brand’s journey towards circularity, the Certified Tailors program aims to extend the lifetime of your jeans by offering free jeans repairs at selected tailors in South Africa, The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. By introducing this initiative in South Africa, G-Star hopes to empower local entrepreneurs whilst expanding the lifecycle of denim to help reduce the ever-growing fashion footprint. The Certified Tailors program is one of many responsible initiatives the brand has in place for 2022.
For more information about this G-Star initiative and to find a Certified Tailor near you, click here.
