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88 Bree Street in Cape Town has new tenants. Global fashion house, Budism Couture, has taken residence in Heritage Square’s iconic 240-year-old Cape Town building.

With only five previous owners, it’s served as a wine storage facility, a general store, and a film advertising office.

Philipp Althof, one half of the dynamic duo behind Budism Couture, which specialises in one-of-a-kind hand-embroidered gowns, daywear couture, and accessories, says “Researching this unique building and going through the full heritage-approval process was incredibly interesting as it taught us so much about Cape Town’s history.”

The other half of Budism Couture, Creative director Budi Adji, attaches a sacred meaning to the space comprising 750sqm over four levels. Adji told Your Luxury Magazine: “For me, the number 88 signifies luck, and having an address of 88 Bree Street in 8000 Cape Town is an added bonus.”

Budi is one of the few young designers who have turned away from the pull of mainstream fashion in favour of preserving the old profession of authentic haute couture. And he does it from the southern tip of Africa rather than Paris, a decision chosen by the two founders in light of Philipp’s attachment to Cape Town, where he grew up.

This relationship, combined with their respect for local culture, makes Cape Town a perfect location for a globally competitive design brand.

Philipp and Budi met in Singapore 23 years ago, when Philipp had just started his first job after obtaining a degree in business and finance. In the time preceding the 2014 founding of Budism Couture in Hong Kong, Budi completed his fashion studies at Central Saint Martins in London.

“Our journey has taken us from Singapore to Shanghai, London, Zurich, Hong Kong, and now to Cape Town,” they recall.

“People on this continent are incredibly creative – you find elements of design and creativity everywhere. When we first pitched the idea of moving to Cape Town to our Parisian ateliers, they all said we were crazy. We explained more, and they told us that if we don’t do it, someone else will.”

Aside from serving as unofficial ambassadors for their new city and country, Budism Couture is primarily a haven and refuge for individuals who value true haute couture.

“I believe in the age-old tradition of savoir-faire and couture. It’s not just the final product that should impress, but also the painstaking artisanry and skills associated with real haute couture,” says Budi.

Clients from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and of course South Africa are offered optimum personalisation, with a Budism Couture creation made in a matter of weeks or up to nine months. One dress took more than 3,500 hours of embroidery to create, featuring thousands of miniature flowers with moving petals made from over 250,000 sequins.

Another impressive creation was made from the world’s lightest fabric.

“This is the lightest woven fabric in the world. It’s digitally woven because no needle can weave this finely. It was originally developed for water filtration and can filter down to bacteria level. A dress made with this will weigh six grams in total… imagine that.”

The topic of Western presence descending on Africa with agendas to extract and export cannot be skirted around, and Philipp and Budi are clear on their intent. Having seen the handiwork of locals, they felt the same hands that bead intricate crafts can be taught to transfer their skill to the world of haute couture.

 

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They already travel around the world sourcing materials and maintain relationships with centuries-old factories that produce for France’s haute couture houses – Paris would have been an obvious choice as a base if ulterior motives existed. They also knew about the once-thriving textile industry in Cape Town, and in a bid to revive artisans exiled to obscurity by the industry’s demise, went to great lengths to call on a Bo-Kaap Imam, and an inquisitive car guard to trace legendary talent – in this case, a seamstress with 50 years of experience – who is now one of the artisans at the ‘laboratory’.

Five other local artisans all dressed in pristine white lab coats also call the space their professional home. Their talent pool expands further across the globe.

A garment can go from a sketch in Cape Town to Indonesia for digital mapping of the fabric, on to Paris for embroidery work, and then back to Cape Town for its refined finishing under the eye of Budi. This, he believes, is the money-no-object realm in which his clientele expect to live.

“Some people might ask about the price tag. Why wait for four months for a dress? But these are clients who have shopped everything in terms of ready to wear. They progress onto the next level where whatever’s available for everyone else is not satisfactory, and want something no one else has. That’s where haute couture comes in.”

In a world that favours fast fashion, it’s pleasant to see there are still those who appreciate the value of taking time to create something truly special.

[source:yourluxury]