Lepas and GLAMOUR: A Celebration of South African Fashion at the GMG Awards

Fashion and luxury have always shared a common language—one rooted in craftsmanship, innovation and self-expression. This year, Lepas joins GLAMOUR’s Most GLAMOURous (GMG) Fashion Awards, celebrating the creatives, tastemakers and visionaries shaping South Africa’s style landscape while introducing a fresh perspective on aspirational living.

Ahead of this year’s awards, we spoke to the Lepas team about why partnering with GLAMOUR was the perfect fit, the evolution of South African fashion and what guests can expect from the brand at this year’s celebration.

Q&A with Lepas

GLAMOUR: Why was it important for your brand to collaborate with GLAMOUR for this year’s GLAMOUR’s Most GLAMOURous Fashion Awards?

Lepas: Lepas was built as an aspirational lifestyle brand, not just a vehicle brand, so a partnership with GLAMOUR puts us in direct conversation with the audience we exist for. GLAMOUR’s community mirrors the one we’re building around Lepas: confident, diverse and unapologetically aspirational South African women. GLAMOUR’s Most GLAMOURous celebrates individuality and elegance, the same values at the heart of our own design language, Leopard Aesthetics. This partnership lets Lepas show up in a cultural moment that speaks to who our customers are, not only in a retail or motoring context.

GLAMOUR: How has South African fashion evolved over the past year, and what trends or shifts are you most excited about?

Lepas: South African fashion has moved from celebrating heritage as a seasonal theme to treating it as a permanent design language, reinterpreting traditional prints, textiles and craftsmanship through a distinctly modern lens. We’re also seeing local designers gain real global recognition, and a growing embrace of natural, locally sourced fibres and more considered, sustainable production.

The trend we’re most excited about is the reimagining of iconic African prints, leopard print especially, into bold, modern expression rather than literal pattern. It’s a shift we recognise immediately, because it echoes the design thinking behind Lepas itself: taking something instantly recognisable and reinterpreting it with elegance and confidence for a new generation.

GLAMOUR: Beyond celebrating fashion, what impact do you hope these awards have on the local creative industry?

Lepas: We hope this platform continues to give South African designers and creatives real visibility, both locally and on the global stage, and that the recognition translates into tangible opportunity: retail partnerships, investment and funding, and doors opening internationally. Beyond that, we hope it continues to show the next generation of South African creatives that their talent belongs on any stage in the world, not only a local one.

Glamour: What can guests and readers expect from your brand activation at the GMG Awards?

Lepas: Guests can expect an experience that reflects Lepas’s own design philosophy: elegant, considered and confident, rather than a traditional motoring showcase. Exact activation details are still being finalised with our events partners, so we’ll share the specifics closer to the date.

As GLAMOUR’s Most GLAMOURous Fashion Awards continues to celebrate the people, ideas and brands shaping the future of style, partnerships like this highlight how fashion increasingly intersects with design, innovation and modern luxury. Together, they reflect a shared vision of confidence, creativity and individuality.

For Lepas, this collaboration is about more than showcasing a brand, it’s about becoming part of a cultural conversation. By celebrating aspirational living alongside South Africa’s leading fashion voices, Lepas reinforces its commitment to design-led experiences that inspire a new generation to embrace elegance with confidence