A beautifully curated mix of fashion, accessories and homeware from South African designers can be found at Willow, writes Katrine Anker-Nilssen.
Willow opened in Windermere Centre in June 2015. “Brett, my hubby and business partner, and I have a clothing wholesale business called Collins Collection. We found that we had no wholesale customers in Durban and decided to open our own store so that we could also retail our clothing,” says Cathy van Rooyen. “We initially set up a boutique at our factory premises at The Design Factory in Station Drive, but there wasn’t a lot of foot traffic or parking. So when an opportunity arose at Windermere Centre we took the plunge.”
Cathy and Brett haven’t looked back since and opened their second store in La Lucia Mall in April 2019. “During lockdown last year we set up our online store, and now offer a selection of what we have in store online,” says Cathy.
“We started out stocking mainly clothing from our wholesale brand. Soon, however, we realised that our Durban customers had very diverse styles and tastes and were also looking for accessories, shoes and gifts,” says Cathy. “So our wonderful journey began as we moved from being a clothing boutique to a lifestyle store.”
“It has been incredible building relationships with other talented local brands and stocking their beautiful products in our stores. As we got a feel for what our customers loved, we developed our own Willow collection – reflecting our causal Durban lifestyle.”
Willow aims to find beautiful and unique locally made items at affordable prices and curate them together in such a way that customers love coming in to browse, see what’s new and wanting to treat themselves. “We want customers to have a luxury shopping experience where they are looked after and given exceptional help and service,” says Cathy. “We like to go the extra mile where we can, and our staff are known for their friendly customer service.”
Willow’s latest summer collection is all about beautiful natural fibres like linen, cotton and rayon. “We print some of our own fabrics to keep things exclusive and unique. Our styling is classic and feminine with a contemporary twist, so it will last beyond one season and won’t necessarily date,” says Cathy. “We love detail and believe it’s the subtle details on each piece that adds that element of luxury and chic. This season we are loving tiers and frills, and flowy silhouettes – so we have incorporated these elements in some of our dresses and tops. We have also created some loungewear pieces which have been popular, reflecting the current trend for comfy casual wear.” *
FOR MORE INFO:
- Cathy: 082 567 2715, willow@iafrica.com, www.willowshop.co.za
- La Lucia Mall: 031 562 9190, Windermere Centre: 031 303 1425