Fashion will be popping in Durban this festive season â€" quite literally. 

The Box Shop (a stylish pop up fashion shop) will be doing a pop-up tour of the city from the 1st of December until the 3rdDecember 2017. The city’s fashion lovers can visit three different locations - North Beach, Morningside and Umlazi â€" for some urban chic fashion. 

The Pop-Up tour will showcase the Spring/Summer 2017 collections of fourteen local designers from Durban and Johannesburg. 

These include: Diva by Brenda Quin (by Brenda Quin), Frida Couture (by Yvette C Ngushirwa), Indoni Fashion House (by Kwenzi Nkomo), Marparkisha (by Sibu Msimang), Elppag (by Khetha Kweyama), Skinny Sbu Socks (by Sibusiso Nqwenya) and many more. 

According to Sindi Shangase, founder of the Durban Fashion Fair (DFF) and manager of the eThekwini municipality’s business support programme, the Pop-Up Tour is another fashion first to come out of the DFF which has not only identified emerging Durban fashion talent but also mentored them so they are better acquainted with the business side of fashion and take their creations to market. Shangase said that Durban was taking a leaf out of the fashion book of the iconic Vilakazi Street in Soweto which has its own Box Shop. 

The Box Shop is a pre-retail incubator designed to promote new and up-and-coming Soweto-based designers and brands and give opportunities to small businesses. It sells designer gear as well as locally manufactured cosmetics and accessories. 

It was launched in April of 2016 as a business incubator to support women and youth owned enterprises and provide a platform for access to markets for emerging businesses. The Durban leg of the Pop-Up Tour is the result of a partnership between eThekwini Municipality, Citi Foundation, Durban Tourism and the Durban Fashion Fair. 

It also forms part of the Box Shop retail omni-channel expansion strategy to generate data, public awareness, interest and build relationships with Durban partners, entrepreneurs and customers. 

“The Box Shop Pop-Up tour is part of a preliminary market penetration strategy for the 2nd Box Shop physical outlet coming to Durban in 2018 with the hopes of securing two locations in Florida Road and North Beach, “explains Shangase. 

“80% of the brands that will be sold come from local designers across South Africa. While we are a fashion retail business, we are aware of the struggles new brands go through to find suitable points of sale. Like the eThekwini Municipality, The Box Shop is committed to helping designers gain access to markets, find the right locations and promote local design,” adds Sifiso Moyo, co-founder of The Box Shop. 

Come on down and support your local designers at the nearest “Box Shop” Pop-up Store near you on Friday, December 1st between 12h00 and 22h00 at the North Beach venue next to the Tourism Offices on the Beachfront. 

Then on Saturday, December 2nd you can find us on the corner of Gordon and Florida Roads between 12h00 and 22h00 and on Sunday, December 3rd you can find us at the infamous Max's Lifestyle Restaurant situated at 328 Mbe Road in Umlazi between 12h00 and 22h00. 

To find out more about our designers participating in the Box Shop Pop Up store visit us at: Twitter: @theboxshopsa / @dbnfashion_fair | Instagram: @the_box_shop_sa / @dbnfashion_fair | Facebook: The Box Shop / Durban Fashion Fair

ENDS