When the mayor of Cape Town steps onto the stage at the Festive Lights Switch-On on November 29, 2026, he will wear a garment that is much more than a piece of clothing.
The garment is intended to embody Cape Town style, community and collaboration.
Inez Shaw and her team have officially won the 2026 Wear the Hope city challenge.
Their winning design, a festive-wear top titled Masikhuthazane, is a collaborative crochet project made entirely from rescued and leftover yarn.
A garment made by many hands
The late Elizabeth Galloway, Shaw's mother, also influenced her approach to garment making. Galloway is the namesake of the Elizabeth Galloway Academy of Fashion Design, where Shaw is now a director.
The educational institution serves as a space for creative development, and the makers of the garment include academy staff, close colleagues, and the broader creative community connected to the school.
Shaw explained how the idea for the design came to her directly from one of the community members at the academy, making it a logical decision for Shaw to choose for the garment to be constructed collectively.
She describes herself as a crafter at heart and not a designer, and "that, despite submitting the winning entry, very little of the idea" belongs to her alone, she said.
"My colleagues gave me the word, the Academy community inspired the concept, and many people are contributing to making it," she explained. "I was really more of a filter, bringing those ideas together."
The power of a single word
The isiXhosa name masikhuthazane translates to "let us encourage one another".
Shaw said that the word actually came from one of her colleagues during a staff togetherness day workshop where they were discussing the working culture they valued at the academy.
As an employer, Shaw felt incredibly proud to hear her team describe their environment as warm and encouraging.
When the competition brief arrived, she immediately connected the word to the city's Beacon of Hope theme.
"I thought that if we can encourage one another and bring out the best in each other, that is already a form of hope," Shaw told IOL.
The nitty-gritty of collective crafting
The garment relies on granny squares, a method that allows the academy staff and fellow community makers to contribute small parts independently.
They follow a common colour sequence based on the South African flag, with red being particularly prominent to suit the festive mayoral occasion.
Because the garment is using rescued, recovered and leftover yarn, the granny square technique is ideal. Shaw noted that they only need a short length of yarn for each round, meaning even small leftovers can be put to work. However, working with reclaimed yarn does present distinct practical hurdles.
Shaw pointed out that reclaimed yarn is not necessarily consistent, meaning there can be differences in thickness, texture and fibre composition, which directly affects how the squares work together.
"Everybody crochets differently. Some people crochet tightly, some more loosely," Shaw observed. "Some squares are very neat and precise, while others are a little more expressive."
The squares follow the same basic design but are purposefully not identical. Shaw wants people to look closely at the garment to see the differences between the individual contributions.
"I think this reflects something about Cape Town and South Africa," she said. "We are all different, but we can still work together towards something worthwhile. Unity doesn't require sameness."
Hope stitched in yarn
Shaw learned to crochet from her grandmother at the age of four.
She remembers her grandmother's bag of leftover yarn vividly, describing it as being filled with little balls of all sorts of colours and textures. "A bit like liquorice all sorts," Shaw recalled.
Her mother, the late Elizabeth Galloway, further instilled a strict intolerance for wasting time, potential, materials, or opportunities.
"I learnt to be resourceful, to use what was available to me, and to rely on my wits and powers of observation to learn and create," Shaw said.
She wanted the physical making of the garment to reflect this legacy of practical hope, rather than simply creating a garment with a message about community.
She liked the idea that a beacon of hope "could begin with something as simple as one person teaching another to stitch."
To the hands that taught us
This year's winning garment uses rescued materials that stem from a deep family legacy for Shaw.
Her wedding dress was made from her mother's tablecloth, which she received as a wedding present, hand-crocheted by her great-grandmother and finished by her grandmother after her great-grandmother passed away.
With four generations of women in her family represented in it, the piece reflects how crochet and craft have long been embedded in her heritage.
Shaw has chosen to donate her R5,000 prize to Molo Mhlaba, where young girls will be provided a wide range of art supplies across a network of schools founded by a close high school friend.
The Molo Mhlaba organisation focuses on providing education to girls who would not have access to these supplies otherwise.
"I think that if we can each make even a small positive contribution to the youth of our country, their lives and their prospects of becoming everything they can be become a little more hopeful," Shaw explained when asked why she chose to donate her prize money to the Molo Mhlaba organisation.
She hopes that the young learners will have fun with the art supplies and experience some of the inspiration and excitement she remembers feeling as a child exploring her grandmother's leftover yarn stash.
Shaw admitted to feeling deeply anxious about the upcoming event. When asked what winning meant to her, she was strikingly honest.
"Mostly, I'm just scared," she confessed. "I tend to doubt the value of my own contributions and am much more comfortable standing back and supporting others who are at the forefront," she said.
Having won, Shaw now realises that her experience has taught her a lesson about Masikhuthazane; people should encourage one another not only to participate and contribute but also to recognise the value of what they have to offer.
"Even when we think our abilities or contributions are too small or insignificant, they can still be valuable and become part of something much bigger," Shaw said.
Shaw told IOL she might just "stand back and let her staff and fellow makers enjoy the limelight on November 29," insisting she will only really feel like she has won if all her people get to share the win.
When the mayor debuts the garment under the stage lights, Shaw hopes the festive and joyous colours make people smile.
More importantly, she hopes the audience recognises the many people who have contributed to making the garment.
"It's often when unexpected things are created because you have so many perspectives, experiences and skills to draw from," she told IOL.
"I see collaboration as a significant source of hope and strength, and I would certainly like to continue doing more of it."
As Cape Town prepares to light up the city on Sunday, November 29, 2026, under the Beacon of Hope theme, the iconic Festive Lights Switch-On programme runs from 4pm to 10pm at the Grand Parade, Darling Street.
When asked about the color palette, Shaw explained that it draws directly from the "colours of the South African flag."
Let us welcome Masikhuthazane into our homes and enjoy the party.
IOL