The Smarteez

Fashion Collective Soweto

Year : 2007 - 2011

A collection of images featuring the Smarteez Collective from Soweto.

They are a DIY fashion "crew" consisting of Kepi, Sibu, Floyd, and Thabo. They took me to various fabric shops and clothing stores where they source the raw materials they adapt and combine to create their vibrant, outlandish creations. While walking through the city, they explained how they perceive their generation as different from the preceding one. Being too young to vividly remember the struggle for apartheid, they feel less politicized and assert that their current "struggle" revolves around combating blandness and conformity. To them, it's all about partying, self-expression, and challenging stereotypes. As Sibu, the guy in the red cape, expressed, "I was born into the free world, and some people accuse me of taking my freedom for granted. But to that, I say, 'Fuck you! It's my freedom to take for granted.'" Text by Rod Stanley / Dazed Magazine 2010.

http://www.dazeddigital.com/Fashion/article/7594/1/South_Africa_Special_The_Smarteez