Pick n Pay Clothing has unveiled its third 2026 Futurewear collection, introducing a collaborative line with emerging South African designer Silungile Gcaba (35). The release marks a defining chapter for Gcaba, translating a childhood passion for drawing and an unconventional path into design into a major commercial debut.
Growing up between KwaZulu-Natal and Pretoria, Gcaba discovered at school that she had a natural talent for drawing and began entering drawing competitions. She knew she wanted to pursue a creative career, but after matric, fashion design did not initially seem like an option.
“I wanted to do fashion design, but I couldn’t get into fashion because I didn’t have a fine arts background,” she says.
Instead, she enrolled at the University of KwaZulu-Natal to study psychology, where she discovered she could take fine arts as a second major. After completing her studies, she went on to study fashion design at the Durban University of Technology.
Since then, her fashion career has largely centred on occasion wear, creating commissioned fashion pieces for clients.
The opportunity through Pick n Pay Clothing’s Futurewear – a fashion incubator created by Pick n Pay Clothing and designer Gavin Rajah to teach young creatives how to scale their artistry into commercial, mass-market retail – has given Gcaba a completely different perspective on what it means to be a fashion designer. It shifted her focus from pure individual expression to the intricate mechanics of retail strategy.
“It was very eye-opening for me,” she says. “Designing for Pick n Pay Clothing has made me look at fashion differently. It has shown me that being a designer is not only about creating one beautiful outfit for a once-off event. You’re designing for many people to wear items numerous times. It is about understanding the customer and creating something that can become part of their everyday lives.”
That philosophy is at the heart of Flowers in My Dreams, the new Silungile Gcaba x Pick n Pay Clothing collection, which comprises six pieces inspired by her love of fantasy, art and the quiet beauty of everyday life.
The collection captures Gcaba’s idea of a fairytale-like morning: waking up, stepping into a garden and enjoying a quiet cup of coffee or tea surrounded by flowers. She wanted to turn that feeling of calm and escapism into clothing that customers could imagine themselves wearing.
“I love designing something very fairy tale-like. I think when somebody sees clothes they like, they immediately imagine themselves wearing them. I love creating clothes that people can actually dream they’re wearing and have a story about where they would wear that dress or skirt.”
Her fine arts background comes through most strongly in the collection’s floral print. Inspired by watercolour flowers that fade and blend into one another, the print was initially imagined in a brighter, more colourful palette. As the colours were developed, however, they became more muted – a change Silungile says ultimately worked in favour of the collection’s calm aesthetic.
The creative process has been as important to Silungile as the finished collection, giving her a first-hand understanding of the commercial side of fashion – from garment construction and fabric selection to designing with a retail customer in mind.
“It almost felt like an internship because I was learning so much. There were so many things that I didn’t know before, and being part of this process really opened my eyes to how the industry works.”
She adds: “Drawing was always my native language, even when my environment didn’t offer a direct path into the arts. Studying fine arts alongside psychology taught me to see fashion as more than garment construction; it’s a medium for human emotion and narrative. Joining Futurewear allowed me to distil those artistic concepts into silhouettes designed for daily South African life.”
Gcaba says that seeing her designs move from the drawing board into a national retail environment has made the achievement feel even more real – particularly for her family.
“When my mom saw everything, she said to me, ‘You are now a fashion designer.’”
Silungile’s Flowers in My Dreams collection is now available in 44 Pick n Pay Clothing stores and for order on Pick n Pay asap!, allowing customers to discover the work of an emerging South African designer.
