Publications
Partners
Maria McCloy is everyone’s big sister – or so some of us would like to think. She’s feisty, classy, stylish and just so damn cool, much like her accessories.
Not too long ago, creating a flurry of excitement, it was revealed that McCloy and some other innovative and cutting-edge designers will have their designs sold at Woolworths stores countrywide. The Woolworths 2017 StyleBySA seasonal campaign champions home-grown talent and features a capsule collection by eight local designers – McCloy, Rich Mnisi, Thebe Magugu, AKJP, Pichulik, Sol-Sol, Selfi and Young & Lazy – who are taking the fashion scene by storm.
McCloy says the partnership with Woolworths started on social media: “In December, I got a Facebook message from clothing designer David West asking if I’d like to talk about working with Woolworths. Talk about the best Facebook inbox of my life! I am in the most amazing company.”
She says her collection consists of three types of men’s shoes and three types for women.
“When David inboxed me, it became a matter of sending through my lookbook, and then Woolworths deciding on the styles it would like and what cloth it would like before I started working with my factory.”
McCloy grew up in several African countries with a mum from Lesotho and dad from the UK, which influences her designs and interests.
“I was born in England and then we went to Nigeria, followed by Sudan, Mozambique and then Lesotho, before I came to a boarding school in [then] Natal.”
The former journalist, editor and TV producer’s signature aesthetic is African prints, which she sources from across the continent to create shoes, sneakers, clutches, neck pieces and exquisite fabric-covered suitcases.
“African print has always been in my life. There are pictures of me as a baby tied to my mother’s back with a little Lesotho blanket from my grandmother.
“At the same time, I’ve always been into fashion, media and pop culture, so all of that kind of combines into my brand. For example, when you look at my shoes, you’ll see a silver sneaker with a west African print. The prints I use are associated with the continent – north to south, west to east. When you see my prints, you’ll think of Africa.”
McCloy has been making her shoes since 2012, “so it’s a major step up for me from selling at Market on Main and Neighbourgoods [in Joburg] over weekends to now be stocked in Woolworths stores with other amazing designers who I really look up to”.
The deal between the designers and Woolworths is not structured on a consignment basis – meaning the designers are paid 50% of the value of the stock purchased in advance, eliminating any potential cash flow problems that could pop up.
“They bought stock at a price that makes me happy and enables me to grow my business with profit. In terms of my aesthetic and philosophy, it makes me happy because I’m all about amazing African aesthetics being available and worn by as many people as possible,” she says.
“All of us as designers want financing and distribution, and a lot of designers in South Africa struggle because smaller boutiques want consignment agreements, and that messes up our cash flow. It messes up your ability to produce more and it messes with your distribution. So this is a dream come true for me.”
