Durban July puts creative economy in full gallop
Lucy Kgweetsi | Friday July 11, 2025 13:11
The 2025 edition of the event showed that Durban July has matured from a South African lifestyle marker into a regional platform connecting artists, designers, and industry professionals across borders, including Botswana. This year’s race was preceded by more than millinery fittings and glittered gowns. It came with flights, meetings, and partnerships that positioned Durban July not just as a cultural event, but as a continental exchange. Durban Tourism’s partnership with Air Botswana was instrumental in this shift, facilitating the travel of creatives and stakeholders from Botswana to eThekwini. The collaboration speaks to a wider move towards cultural diplomacy in Southern Africa. In an interview with some members of the media from Botswana, the deputy director of Durban Tourism, Winile Mntungwa explained that they’re not just looking at tourists, but they’re looking at trade. “When we fly in a creative from Botswana, we’re opening a corridor not just for style, but for serious business. But also before business, we are literally a family with Botswana. We consider Botswana as our sibling.” She added.
The business of creativity was everywhere. Pop-up showrooms featured emerging labels from across the region. Networking events, runaways and several marquees gave stylists, designers, photographers and textile producers a chance to trade contacts, ideas and, in some cases, contracts. One could sense the subtle but real infrastructure growing beneath the visible glamour. Botswana’s presence was noticeable. While not yet mainstream, Batswana creatives showed an increasing confidence in navigating such events, not merely as guests but as contributors. Bame Mmutla, a Botswana-based fashion creative, observed, “You come here and realise the industry is alive and collaborative. I’m speaking with people from Zambia, SA and Lesotho. You don’t get that back home.” For many emerging artists, the Durban July offers something more valuable than applause, proximity. It creates an opportunity to be seen by buyers, producers, and media that are often inaccessible at home. In a single afternoon, a designer can gain months’ worth of visibility. Yet the stakes are also clear. In this creative economy, visibility is currency. Without the right access points like the Durban Tourism initiative many regional creatives remain locked out. The July offers them a brief but crucial entry point. What happens after depends on whether structures are sustained beyond the fanfare.
“There’s a lot of interest in Southern African talent,” said one South African buyer attending the event. “But the question is always, how do we connect beyond these moments?” Cultural economists have long noted that African creatives struggle not because of a lack of talent, but because of poor integration. Events like the Durban July, when leveraged properly, offer a corrective, a rare platform where art meets access. But access, if not backed by structure, can become symbolic rather than transformational. Still, the tone at this year’s July felt different. There was a sense of momentum that regional cooperation is no longer a proposal, but a necessity. The involvement of regional tourism bodies, airlines, and fashion councils hints at a future where Southern African creatives may move with fewer obstacles. Whether through an Air Botswana seat or a fashion tent encounter, the Durban July continues to show that creativity is not a sideshow. It is the economy itself. And if Southern Africa listens closely, the gallop might echo louder than the race itself.