Unlocking the power of purpose – using streetwear fashion as a catalyst for the general wellbeing of the creative community, an industry plagued by the highest cases of depression and suicide – is something we don’t often get to hear about in the world of streetwear.
It was not until recently when local streetwear Anatomy unveiled an excitedly new unique capsule collection with Sportscene in Braamfontein, that an emphasis was placed on the new era of sustainable, ethical, and meaningfully healing street clothing.
Speaking exclusively to NOWinSA on the sidelines of the launch, Anatomy’s brand lead and strategist Ngqondi Mfini says the decision for Anatomy to “come in with a new purpose within streetwear”, was well-thought-out. “Within streetwear everyone is doing the same thing, everyone is doing music, dance, if not amapiano … so we came in, and we wanna to do something different which is around wellness, and ‘you’ taking care of yourself as a creator,” he tells me.
“So we’re still speaking to the streetwear kind of creators, but it’s also about speaking back to your purpose and ‘nothing but purpose’ as the creators and to our target audience. And there’s more stuff coming in the next couple of weeks, we’ve partnered with different creators where we afford them the opportunity to tell their stories and their purpose.”
Elaborating more on the theme, or rather the capsule name, ‘Nothing But Purpose’, he says: “If you look at the past two years, we’ve lost a lot of people within the creative space due to depression, suicide and other related causes,” he explains, making reference to the late South African hip-hop musician Riky Rick, who detailed her mental illness in his song before dying by suicide in 2021. “Even though we know that this is happening, there hasn’t been a brand that’s brave enough to say ‘we see what’s happening, and we want to tackle it from a solution perspective’.
The sad reality that depression is common within creative industries is so prevalent that it has given birth to the terms “tortured artist” and “mad artist.” But it’s yet to be proven whether this idea is just a stereotype, or it does indeed contain some truth, as alluded in some of the studies unpacked in this journal – which point to the fact the high-pressured environment of creatives can lead to depressive symptoms, as tight deadlines, high expectations, fierce criticism, and intense travel become common for them.
However, Anatomy wants to become a catalyst for positive change in the process. “With Anatomy, we want to be that brand that say we see exactly what’s goings-on, we care about creators, and we gonna build platforms for ‘you’ to openly talk about these issues, and bring about the necessary solutions when and where we can.”
As to who the collection speaks to, it’s “the young creators who want to be different,” he says, adding: “and those who aspire to something that doesn’t speak to the norm of streetwear and want express how they feel.”
The collection, in a nutshell boldly celebrates the art of design and sustainability with the purpose of wellness.
