Freaky Friday in the Fashion District: Be There.

I’ve written about the Fashion Kapitol before, more than once actually. But I can’t say enough good things about it.

The Fashion Kapitol, which most people don’t even know exists, is quintessential Jozi. If you show up there (130 Pritchard Street in the Fashion District, next to the building with the giant “Sew Africa” sign) on the right day, at the right time, you will experience Joburg at its best.

This is Joburg.

There is a lunch-time fashion contest at the Fashion Kapitol every day this week for the Joburg City Festival. I was there for yesterday’s contest, which was called “Trendy Thursday”. Today’s contest is “Freaky Friday”, and based on yesterday’s experience I think it will be epic. If you have time, I would highly recommend going.

Trendy Thursday was delightful. Here are some photos.

Trendy contest spectators on Trendy Thursday.

Trendy contestants walk the runway. As far as I could tell, anyone could join the contest. The point was to dress up as trendily as possible and strut your stuff. The two judges narrowed the field to ten finalists, and eventually to a single winner.

My nomination for cutest contestant.

Best hair.

Happiest contestants.

These feet belong to the winner of Trendy Thursday. I didn’t manage to get a decent photo of her whole body, probably because I was so distracted by her amazing shoes. I asked if the shoes are comfortable. “Oh yes!” she said. “You can’t really walk in them but they are super-comfortable.”

The best thing about the contest was the vibe created by the audience.

After the contest my friend Annette and I had lunch at the Fashion Shack, a small café in the Fashion Kapitol. The Fashion Shack serves pretty decent burgers, called Joburgers, for R26 (about $2.50), including fries.

Joburger with cheese.

We then browsed through a couple of the shops. Several talented local designers have shops in the Fashion Kapitol. I wandered into a shop called Fruitcake, which I’d never been in before.

Sithembiso Mngadi (right), proprietor of Fruitcake. Sithembiso sells vintage clothing as well as his own designs.

I spotted a pair of Doc Marten boots in the corner. Each boot had two zippers, one on either side of the laces. Before I knew it they were on my feet.

Photo: Annette DeVries.

Suddenly I found myself handing R420 (what a deal!) to Sithembiso and walking out with these boots. They were meant to be mine.

I love the Fashion Kapitol. Go today at 1:00 if you possibly can – Freaky Friday will be the highlight of the week. They also have dance performances and various other events going on all day tomorrow (Saturday). Check the full festival schedule here.

Fashion Kapitol shot of the day.

Browse all of my Joburg City Festival posts.