Dirty Indigo
Good
product, right message and keeping it east of the coast.
Think
trendy, design and style – Dirty Indigo has it all. Described as an
"indigenously" tailored product, crafted the ”old school” way, it
satisfies the need for authentic localism in the City of Durban and so much
more.
Where
most commercial fashion brands display the usual imported humdrum, Dirty Indigo
gladly stumbles through the beautiful chaos of our local culture, searching for
an honest, clean, clearer and more tangible identity. The designs and styles
are cut and sewn locally with each item touched by the hand of its creators
from conception and artwork through to hand held screen-printing.
Owner
and designer Tav Naidoo is one of I Heart Market’s fantastic traders, adding a
unique and diverse element of style to the market atmosphere. We spent some
time with Dirty Indigo recently to find out more about Tav’s success and
inspiration for his work.

1.
Tell us a bit about your product and how you started the brand Dirty Indigo?
Dirty
indigo was created with the idea of Authentic Local ‘flava’. By this we mean
with the chaos of our local culture. As we know, our country is filling up with
international brands and there philosophies. When I walked around Durban I saw
so many people
wearing t-shirts saying “I LOVE NY”, that just caused us to clinch our teeth.
So from there we decided that we were going to create cutting-edge, trendy
prints for t-shirts
using our city and its culture as inspiration.
The big
question was…how would we get the formula right?
The plan was to keep it fresh with an ‘all hands on deck’ approach creating
simple, one colour prints with a 160gm local sourced fabric base to be stitched
in a local factory with our unique fit. Since the t-shirts are printed by us we
ensured no mass production and no two t-shirts being the exact same.
2.
How and why did you choose that name for your brand? Is there a story behind
it?
The name was
created from the love of denim. Dirty Indigo denim is just the way forward in
our opinion and will always stand the test of time. We feel Durban is known for
being a city of denim; it’s simply worn every day.
4. What inspires you to create, design or innovate?
A
simple passion for fashion, design and the city of Durban.
5.
What is unique, conceptual or interesting about
Dirty Indigo?
Dirty
Indigo is unique because it's all about Durban and our quality of the fabric
and our prints we use sets it apart from the rest. Our prints are highly trendy
and encompass an element of vintage which makes them special. Our packaging too
is unique and edgy, reminiscent of those late nights and after hour’s mission
for a Johnnies Roti.
6.
How long have you been with I Heart Market and what do you enjoy most about it?
We
have been with I Heart Market from August 2012 and it’s simple, we love the
atmosphere and the trendy people that are there every month. You guys are rock
stars.
7.
How has Durban and living in Durban influenced your
creativity?
It
has inspired us to create a new fashion brand, DIRTY INDIGO . A brand that is
local and creative and celebrates design and quality fashion merchandise.
Connect with Dirty Indigo for more trendy
designs.