Earth Age, a local brand supporting women through crafts in Cape Town has made it to Dior’s runway in Paris, alongside giant artworks made in collaboration with legendary South African artist, Hylton Nel.
Earth Age, a South African brand supporting local crochet crafters in Cape Town, provided ‘the finishing touches’ to a stunning Dior Men’s Summer 2025 show.
In collaboration with luxury fashion designer Kim Jones Studio and renowned milliner, Stephen Jones, Cape Town-based Earth Age had their proudly South African craftsmanship in the spotlight at the international fashion runway event in the grounds of Paris’ Val-de-Grâce over the weekend.
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The team behind the local brand – Amy Kunz, Ashley Wagner and Elektra Georgiadis – strutted the streets of Paris over the weekend, as their earth-kind bucket hat designs did the talking for Cape Town’s talented crafters at the prestigious show.
In a video uploaded by Dior, the esteemed fashion house shares the inspiration and process behind working with the unique South African brand.
“These hats are the finishing touch to the collection. Combined with beads made from Yann Petillaut in Paris, they’re the perfect marriage between the craft of South Africa and the savour-faire of Paris.”
The hats – a collaborative take on the brand’s Helix beaded brim hats – are crocheted with natural cotton and hemp, made by Cape Town locals with a passion for the craft.
“We worked together on domed bucket hats. They’re crocheted, using natural fibers and natural dyeing. We picked bright colours – green, different kinds of blue.”
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Work by renowned South African artist, Hylton Nel, also made an appearance at the Dior Men’s Summer 2025 show, with large-scale depictions of animals, primarily cats.
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“The idea of these ceramic giants that the models walk around was wanted as a fun element.” said designer Kim Jones.
“Kim Jones, he took my work for an inspiration, as a starting point. For me, it was just marvellous to see what he has made from it.” says Nel. When asked about his choice of subject matter, Hylton, now 83, said:
“I like to do people, but people are so ‘in your face’, as it were. So I do to the form of a cat.”
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Feature Image: Instagram / @ourearthage
