Fashion's gentle revolution

A soulful journey into Shaldon Kopman's Naked Ape, where African fashion meets heritage, sustainability and self-expression

- Lesego Chepape

If there is one show I look forward to every year at South African Fashion Week, it is Naked Ape.

The garments — crisp in structure yet gentle in movement — seem to glide rather than walk. They speak without words, holding stories in their folds. They are not just beau-tiful; they are cared for, loved even.

I attend — by invite, of course — and every time, I leave different.

Urban Camo, the collection that was showcased at SA Fashion Week, continues the brand’s legacy with fluid tailoring and raw beauty, fea-turing a collaboration with botanical artist Ira Bekker, whose eco-printed textiles — created using natural pig-ments from leaves, branches and rusted metal — infuse the collection with richly detailed, tactile and one-of-a-kind patterns.

For the longest time, I was drawn to the collection but distant from the creator. I’d watch Shaldon Kopman from afar — always sharp, always understated — taking his bow at the end of his shows.

I'd often feel a quiet awe, not so much intimidated by his presence as by the boldness of his choices. There was a fearlessness in his silhouettes, a truth-telling in his tailoring. His clothes did not shout. They whispered deeply.

Eventually, I gathered my courage. I called him — a WhatsApp call, if I’m being honest. My wallet wasn’t in the best shape that week, and wi-fi would have to do.

What I got on the other end of the line was a surprise — not a distant icon, but a man fully alive: “Hello!” His voice was warm, animated — with a passion as vibrant as the gar-ments he creates.

"When the brand was conceptual-ised, it was more about an evolution-ary wardrobe," he tells me. And just like that, we're in it — no pretence, no over-explaining. Just truth.

He’s talking about clothes that evolve with you, hold their place in your wardrobe for years, not seasons.