Gert-Johan Coetzee unveiled his latest visionary collection The Arrival: Where Ancestry Meets the Unknown at South African Fashion Week 2025. Picture: Supplied
Image: Supplied
South African Fashion Week (SAFW’s) Spring/ Summer 25 Collections were nothing but a marvel, with designers raising the bar.
Gert-Johan Coetzee unveiled his latest visionary collection The Arrival: Where Ancestry Meets the Unknown at South African Fashion Week 2025, marking a defining moment not just for the brand but for African fashion as a whole.
Coetzee took guests on a journey 10,000 years into the future and back home again. The runway presentation was cinematic in scale. A video narrative played before the show, illustrating an imagined exodus into space and the powerful return to Earth.
The Arrival is about reclaiming the parts of ourselves we feared were lost, said Coetzee. “Even when we feel like we’ve drifted too far, our roots remain within us.”
The front row and leading lights gallery glittered with South African stardom. Among those in attendance were multi-award-winning songstress Lira, chart-topping rapper Nadia Nakai, media powerhouse Lerato Kganyago, iconic designer David Tlale, celebrated news anchors Abigail Visagie and Puleng Molebatsi, former Miss South Africa and Miss Universe finalist Natasha Joubert, and beloved entertainer Somizi.
Rubicon unveiled “Ethereal Continuum,” their Spring/Summer 2025 (SS25) collection, a poetic fusion of lightness, movement, and timeless sophistication. Inspired by celestial rhythms and ancestral wisdom, this collection captures the essence of transcendence and transformation.
With this collection, Rubicon redefines contemporary African elegance through a palette of sun-washed neutrals, and sky-kissed blues, infused with radiant golds and warm earth tones.
Fabrics are weightless yet commanding, designed to move with the body like whispers of the wind on the skin, like echoes of heritage woven into the future.
“We wanted to create a collection this season that feels boundless yet deeply rooted, light yet powerful. ‘Aptly titled Ethereal Continuum’, our pieces embody the spirit of the modern African woman: she is timeless, she is movement, she is evolution” said Hangwani Nengovhela, Founder and Creative Director of Rubicon.
In its 28th year, the country’s top fashion design platform, organized with the support of, Isuzu, Cruz Vodka, and L’oreal Paris, the South African Fashion Week SS25 hosted seven shows over three days and showed 24 collections.
Rubicon redefines contemporary African elegance through a palette of sun-washed neutrals, and sky-kissed blues, infused with radiant golds and warm earth tones. Picture: Supplied
Image: Suppled
Day two opened with the Isuzu Luxury Collections showcasing Thabo Makhetha first and Rubicon closed with her statement of Ethereal Continuum.
The final show of the partnership between Isuzu Motors and SA Fashion Week happened on April 25. “This partnership allowed us to shine a light on the strength, innovation, and identity of South African fashion,” said Ziphindiwe Ngcobo Department Executive: Marketing, at ISUZU.
“For Isuzu, it was never just about brand presence; it was about creating space for local talent to rise and reimagine their craft through a new lens. We’ve seen designers embrace global trends while staying rooted in local storytelling and that’s the kind of legacy we’re proud to be part of.”
Isuzu’s partnership with culture won’t end with fashion as they are committed to showing up where people live, express, and grow.
“This partnership taught us the value of storytelling through unexpected platforms and going forward, we’ll continue seeking ways to make the ISUZU story one that South Africans see themselves in.”