“A Spirited Approach to South African Luxury” 

Designing since the age of 9 Creative Director, Jacques Bam, always had a fascination and love for the fashion industry. He completed a BA in Fashion Design in 2017 and a BA Honours in Fashion in 2018, both summa cum laude, at LISOF (now STADIO School of Fashion). While working on his studies, he interned in the fields of styling and costume design for Ky Boshoff and Pierre Viennings respectively. During the year of working on his BA Honours degree, Jacques was announced the winner of the SA Fashion Week student competition. This enabled Jacques to work for, and receive business training, from acclaimed South African design houses ERRE and Isabel de Villiers, subsequently launching his brand The BAM Collective in 2019, as a finalist at the SA Fashion Week New Talent Search. 

The brand has since collaborated on many local projects including: Working with Ford South Africa on their Ka Mzolo music video campaign in 2018. Creating a capsule range for South African retailer MRP in 2019. Working on mask production with ECG Clinical Wear during the 2020 pandemic. Collaborating with Hisense South Africa for the launch of their new device in 2021. Collaborating with Savanna Cider on a look for their character Chakalaka Norris for a product activation in 2022. Creating a look for Comfort fabric softener for a product activation in 2022.

During 2021 the brand was selected to form part of the ‘Fashion Bridges - I Ponti Della Moda’ project, which saw the brand travel to Milan, Italy to showcase a collaborative capsule collection with Julian Cerro from Florence, Italy. The capsule collection was presented at both Milan Fashion Week and SA Fashion Week, after Jacques received training, as part of the project, from Polimoda Firenze in Florence, Italy. 

Most recently, the brand was also selected as a laureate for the 2022 edition of the Africa Fashion UP programme under Share Africa. The project saw the brand travel to Paris, France to showcase a collection, where the brand was subsequently declared the winner of the programme. The programme included various prestigious sponsors and jury members including Balenciaga, Galeries Lafayette, Sisley, Leridon Collection, Binance, HEC, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair and Azu Nwagbogu. The brand will now receive mentorship from Balenciaga and a business training course with HEC, as well as a spot to showcase in Paris during September 2023. 

Today the brand operates from a small studio in Centurion, South Africa, where all products are produced per order. The brand specializes in taking a spirited approach to South African luxury. It uses graphic prints, bold colours, striking silhouettes and experimental details to explore the commercial and conceptual boundaries that clothing holds. The brand is inspired by the liveliness of the South Africans it surrounds itself with and the emotional connection we have with the clothes we wear.