Court steps in on style shoe fakes

For years, Carvela shoes have been seen as symbol of style, affluence and street-cred among a fashion conscious sector of South African society.

The growth of inkabi subculture and maskandi music gave the Italian brand a massive boost, and the iconic moccasin design is now synonymous with various genres of local music. 

It was a trend that A&D Spitz, the only store in South Africa licensed to sell Carvela, capitalised on by signing rapper Big Zulu as their brand ambassador in 2020.

Those working in the taxi industry are known for their style staples of Uzzi shirts, Brentwood pants and Carvela shoes. 

But with booming demand came a corresponding increase in fake footwear. Replicas of certain Carvela shoes costing thousands of rand at A&D Spitz were flogged for a mere R600 in makeshift inner city shops and on pavements in Johannesburg — widely regarded as the capital of counterfeit goods.

This week, the Johannesburg high court ordered that Samuel Hamza, the owner of Blessed Miracle Wholesalers and Suppliers, must disclose where he sourced Carvela-branded products or face imprisonment. 

You will find that people who come from disadvantaged areas dress better than those in affluent areas 

—  Fashion influencer Bafana Mthembu

A&D Spitz approached the court after discovering that Hamza’s company was distributing fake versions of the Carvela brand. Police last year seized counterfeit Carvela-branded products at Hamza’s business premises in Jeppe Street, Johannesburg.

The court barred Hamza and his company from importing, manufacturing, distributing or selling the fake shoes.

Acting judge Don Mahon ordered Hamza to hand over to A&D Spitz the name and registration number of the manufacturer and source of the counterfeit Carvela products.

Hamza was also instructed to provide transaction documentation relating to the purchase or procurement of the counterfeit Carvela products within 10 days. He was also ordered to hand over all counterfeit products to A&D Spitz.

Carvela has found a home everywhere, from taxi ranks to hostels and some of the most rural parts of KwaZulu-Natal. 

Fashion influencer Bafana Mthembu said the subculture of amabhinca among Zulu people living in Johannesburg had always been made up of people who wear expensive clothes associated with style. 

“They are known for going to Johannesburg for economic opportunities and when they come back to their rural villages, they must look different to the next person. They would buy the popular Brentwood trousers and expensive shoes,” said Mthembu, who created the popular Asgqoke social media series where he uses influences of the amabhinca style and is known as Eezy Nkabi.

During isicathamiya music — an a cappella form of singing made popular in the 1980s by Ladysmith Black Mambazo —  there is a slot for a fashion show to celebrate style among the Zulus, Mthembu said. 

He said the Carvela brand was previously worn by izikhothane, a group of flamboyant township hustlers who compete against each other in front of large crowds to determine which of them is wealthier. These “battles” often end with competitors destroying their possessions to demonstrate a reckless disregard for expense and their ability to afford more of the same. 

Mthembu said that by partnering with Big Zulu the brand had solidified its relationship with the group of people who had embraced it. 

“Big Zulu was a good fit and the timing was perfect. It was during the time Big Zulu did a song with Riky Rick. At that time he had just got out of the contract with Brentwood,” Mthembu said. 

In November last year, A&D Spitz took Big Zulu to Italy to see how Carvela shoes are made. 

The brand also took advantage in the growth of maskandi music in the country, Mthembu said. 

So in love with the brand was maskandi artist Dizastar that he wrote a song titled Imali yeCarvela, meaning Carvela Money. 

In the song the artist complains that people are questioning why he wears Carvela while he has not built a home for his parents. He sings that the money he used to buy Carvela cannot buy a house. 

“People do not want to look like their problems. You will find that people who come from disadvantaged areas dress better than those in affluent areas,” Mthembu said.

“You find a person from the township who lives in a backroom wearing a Gucci brand. The guy from the hood does not want to look like their problem, they want to look like they have it all figured out.”

This week the Sunday Times went to the Johannesburg inner city to see if counterfeit Carvela shoes were still available.

Of the 10 shops visited by the Sunday Times, only one said it had previously stocked Carvela, but has stopped.

At one shop, a salesman took the Sunday Times to a man along Pritchard Street. A black moccasin Carvela-branded shoe, which cost R2,195 at A&D Spitz, was selling for R650.

Approached for comment on the judgment, Hamza declined to say where he had sourced the fake Carvela shoes. 

“It was different people that were selling, not me. It was actually my brother.” 

Asked to provide his brother's contact details, Hamza simply said he was busy. 

Vivien Crystal, group legal executive at Avi, the company responsible for promoting Carvela, said: “Identifying counterfeit goods in the market is simply part of our ongoing brand protection strategy.”