Are you ready to explore how fashion and textiles can help us live in harmony with nature and with each other? Are you interested in the future of a post-fossil fuel fashion and textile industry? Join Nkwo Onwuka, a seasoned sustainable African fashion expert and a leading fashion designer, and other industry leaders at Africa Textile Talks 2024 for a glimpse into what an African textile ecosystem that acts with care for people and the planet looks like. 

Following a sold-out event in 2023, Twyg and Imiloa Collective are joining forces for the fourth year running for another educational journey into the heart of sustainable textiles, slow fashion and design between 15 and 17 August 2024. The three-day programme will feature insightful talks, tours, presentations, exhibits and demonstrations across Cape Town. 

Headlining this year’s talks conference at Workshop17 at the V&A Waterfront on Thursday 15 August 2024, is Onwuka, founder and Creative Director of the Nigerian artisanal clothing brand NKWO. Recognised as a pioneer of sustainable fashion on the continent, the Abuja-based designer has earned a number of international accolades for her work towards textile waste reduction and the preservation of traditional craft skills. These include being named as a Fashion Impact Fund’s Conscious Fashion Campaign honoree, and the winner of the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards for Emerging Designer in 2022. 

‘What is the point in creating more than we can use if it causes us to live less of a life?’ asks Onwuka in her brand's founding principle, The Philosophy of Less. It was with this question in mind that Onwuka and her team at NKWO Design Studio developed a ‘new African textile’ dubbed Dakala cloth using a technique that involves stripping and sewing together sections of waste fabric. 

Onwuka will kick off the proceedings with her keynote presentation, followed by a packed schedule of exciting talks and panel discussions from industry experts from South Africa and the rest of the continent. Listen and learn from experts and makers who practise and explore Earth-kind methods of growing, spinning, weaving, designing and making.

This year’s exciting talks programme, sponsored by Cape Wools SA, V&A Waterfront, Polo South Africa and SAPPI, will consider the future of a post-fossil fuel fashion and textile industry. Particular focus will be on ‘looking back to look forward’ with versatile ancient materials such as barkcloth (a non-woven cloth made from trees) and the role of kelp-based fibres and wool in the textile industry. Focus will further be placed on regenerative farming methods and sustainable farming practices, particularly wool farming.  

Following the Thursday conference, Twyg’s founder Jackie May will host an immersive tour of textile factory Svenmill and other textile studios on Friday 16 August. On Saturday 17 August, the Slow Fashion Festival will be hosted in collaboration with 44 Stanley and the V&A Watershed – a day of learning, mending and swapping pre-loved clothes alongside other sustainable fashion enthusiasts. The tour will be ticketed separately to the talks programme, with the Slow Fashion Festival free to attend. 

Africa Textile Talks 2024 is more than just an event: it's a movement towards future-fitting our communities and industries. Join in the movement and be inspired by the dedication and innovation of those leading the way in sustainable fashion and textiles.

Essential information for African Textile Talks 2024 

15 August 2024: Africa Textile Talks at Workshop17 Watershed, V&A Watershed 

16 August 2024: Tour of textile factory and studios

17 August 2024: Slow Fashion Festival with V&A Watershed and 44 Stanley, V&A Watershed, 10am - 2pm 

Tickets

Africa Textile Talks: R400 

Tour of textile factory and studios: R250 

Slow Fashion Festival: Free

Tickets are available online at https://www.quicket.co.za/events/263025-africa-textile-talks-2024/#/ 

For more information, visit www.twyg.co.za. For updates follow @twygmag on Instagram and Facebook.