 Download the complete Executive summary here.
It is the vision of this organisation to have the restored Old Granary as the center of Cape Town's Fashion District.
Fashion district centres exist in several parts of the world and all of these districts seem to have had one thing in common. They are born out of a
need from a vibrant creative populace to express their talents, creativity and to "gather" together to showcase these talents and sell their wares.
The fashion districts all appear to have grown in derelict downtown environments, where buildings have outgrown their shelf-live, and the creative
communities, usually led by the fashion hip, have transformed these building and communities into thriving creative communities. Also a unique
feature has been the centre of a once thriving "manufacturing area, as well as being close to centres of learning.
Enter the newest proposal - Cape Town Creative Community. No single creative community is large enough to "gather" foot traffic like the fashion
industry. We have an extremely vibrant FASHION community in the Western Cape. Singularly, we have more head offices of major fashion retailers
here than any other city in the country:
Fashion Retailers Head Offices
Foschini
Truworths
Woolworths
Pep Stores
Ackermans
Pick and Pay Retail
Diskem
Clicks
Clothing City
Friedman and Cohen
Sportsman's Warehouse/MoreSports
Cape Union Mart
+ Smaller Chains of 10 more stores
Print Media
Media 24 i.e.. Burger, Report, Independent newspapers
We have more fashion schools, modelling agencies, media/creative arts than any other singular city in the
county. Cape Town is also home to the Head Office of the Seardel Group of Companies, which is the largest clothing/textile manufacturing grouping in the country. This Group also controls and boasts of assets in excess of R5 Billion.
Together the retailers above represent 80 percent of the "fashion" buy in the entire country.
We have a vibrant SMME -sector represented by Clotex (an LED - Sector Local Economic Development Agency) that has over 600 hundred constituent SME’s members and this by far represents a huge collective of smaller businesses engaged in the fashion business.
Furthermore, Cape Town has become known as a major centre for international companies engaged in photography ands d film shoots - there are over 40 modelling agencies in the province, coupled with a VIBRANT filming/casting and allied industries - this city is truly THE FASHION CAPITAL of the country.
The catalyst to house these activities - THE GRANARY.
The Old Granary is strategically placed to serve as a catalyst for the local fashion and garment industry.
·
Download a Word document delineating the value of the Old Granary's location to the Fashion District here.
·
Download a Word document with exisiting plans of the sections and elevations of the Old Granary building.
·
Download a Word document with exisiting plans of the Old Granary building.
Three important things are in the favour of growing a GARMENT DISTRICT CENTRE, with the Granary as the Catalyst.
1. Cape Town City Council has already convened an advisory board for a Creative Cape Town - the vision is there.
2. Fashion, Film, and the associated smaller industries that support the medium have grown to an unprecedented heights and of course Cape Town is naturally the heart of the fashion industry creative arts.
3. Tourism - this City and indeed Province attract the majority of visitors that wish to enjoy a "creative" experience, due to the cosmopolitan way of life, a City that is steeped in history and has a relaxed Mediterranean, pizazz lifestyle.
The Granary, with a responsible Board in Place could be transformed into a hive of the Creative Cape Town everyone is talking and thinking about -
We could house the creative arts board, the newly created fashion council, the film commission and many other creative boards within the building RENT FREE. One Third of the Building could act as central offices for all of these activities, providing business support services and training facilities for the 'tenants' at nominal fees. A multi-media training academy established there - taking on 200 young multi-media interns in line with Central governments SETA Accredited Programs and all the associated benefits therein until 2010 (Seta's existence have been guaranteed by our Labour Minister till then) inter alia we will be able to "use" the talents of these young people to create and maintain databases of many activities that are happening in and around the creative arts/city/and of course act as a catalyst to grow the Urban Renewal Development (as per the Acts recently passed in Parliament) in the areas from City right through the demarcated areas of Salt River, Woodstock, Maitland, Observatory - the growth would exceed expectations. Proximity to the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, would ensure a fresh intake of interns on a regular basis. The courses that they facilitate adhere to this vision - to name a few:
FASHION
ND: FASHION
B TECH: FASHION
GRAPHIC DESIGN
ND: GRAPHIC DESIGN
B TECH: GRAPHIC DESIGN
M TECH: GRAPHIC DESIGN
D TECH: GRAPHIC DESIGN
JOURNALISM
ND: JOURNALISM
B TECH: JOURNALISM
MULTIMEDIA
NC: MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGY
ND: MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGY
PHOTOGRAPHY
ND: PHOTOGRAPHY
B TECH: PHOTOGRAPHY
The other two floors of the Granary could be let out to tenants who will pay rent, and they would need to be selling goods in line with a fashion/creative arts flavour. A core of creative tailors and seamstresses could transfer their skills to a new generation of younger people who would be able to sew the innovative garments required by the film industry as well as provide a support base for the emerging fashion designers in Cape Town.
A Fashion Cafe, Fashion Boutique Hotel/piazza, mall on the bottom end of the building that could be housed to have fashion shows/art exhibitions, etc etc is perfect for a vibrant city on the move. The re-development of the Granary will plug into the growth and final development of District six, who we anticipate will attract younger people with similar aspirations. The canvas has been painted. Ee need to fill in the blanks and make it happen.
Join us and save the Granary and restore a sense of dignity into the old Lady.
Provincial Govt. needs to act as the catalyst with CCC to make the vision a reality.
Funding - part can be raised via the fashion retailers......Govt/CCC.
Cultural Music and Ethnic Arts added to this mix will add to the richness of the offering.
The nature of the Granary will evolve into a multi-cultural, multi-disciplined, multi-talented eco-system of creative individuals and small business, contributing and attracting members of the public and Tourists (young and not-so-young), to this vibrant creative community, which is the spirit of District Six.
|
|
Read the success stories from fashion districts around the globe:
Johannesburg, South Africa
Situated in the inner city's eastern sector, in an area traditionally associated with the garment industry, the district is made up of 34 blocks, taking in eight streets including End, Market, Von Wielligh and Kerk streets.
Download the assessment of the impact of the Johannesburg fashion district here.
Download the review of the fashion cluster here.
Download the business plan here.
Download the revised concept plan here.
Los Angeles, USA:
The LA Fashion District spans 90 blocks and is the hub of the apparel industry on the West Coast.
Download the Economic contibutions of the LA fashion district report here.
Download the 2006 report here.
New York, USA:
As it has been for decades, the neighborhood that comprises the Fashion Center BID remains the heart and soul of New York City's fashion industry.
Download the remodelling report here.
Other Fashion and Garment districts from around the world:
· Toronto, Canada
· Antwerp, Belgium
· Milan, Italy
· Belo Horizonte, Brazil
There are a number of local initiatives that have the shared vision of developing, managing and promoting the Cape Town City centre with a strong emphasis on retaining it's historical heritage and stimulating it's cultural development.
Cape Town Partnership
The Cape Town Partnership was established in July 1999 by the City of Cape Town, the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA), the Cape Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other stakehOlders to develop, manage and promote the Cape Town Central City. The Cape Town Partnership strives to develop, manage and promote the Cape Town Central City as a place for all and a leading centre for commercial, retail, residential, cultural, tourism, education, entertainment and leisure activities.
Download the CTP Creative Cape Town presentation here.
|
|
