Driving question: How can we create modern-day African attires by bringing together cultural identity and global fashion trends?

Grade: Grade 4

Project Descriptor:

For Term 3, the Grade 4 project drew inspiration from the theme “Food and Advertising,” with a refined focus on “Clothing and Advertising: How Clothes are Marketed to Us.” The learners designed a clothing brand that reflected their individual identities.

Working in groups, they created their own African-inspired clothing brands, such as an “Izingane ze FNS” collection. The designs celebrated African heritage, blending traditional elements with a modern flair in honour of September’s Heritage Month. Learners incorporated creative materials, crafting mats from sweet wrappers or recycled paper and adding beads for texture. Some even prepared indigenous foods as part of the experience.

Subject integration:

Students watched and discussed the history of clothing over time.

Students watched and discussed the psychological influence.

Explore different African cultures, traditional clothing, and the significance behind certain patterns, colors and materials.

Students designed their own modern-day African attire by incorporating traditional patterns and motifs, experimenting with color schemes and create sketches or digital designs that blended traditional African art with modern fashion trends.

Students explored how to run a small business, including understanding profit, capital and pricing strategies.

Students created visual representation of their attire designs (sketches, digital illustrations, or photos of prototypes). They explained the cultural elements used (e.g., patterns, colors, traditional symbols) and how they were integrated with modern fashion trends.

View the project exhibitions for each campus below

Project exhibition (Fleurhof campus):

Project exhibition (Lyndhurst campus):