Freedom in South Africa was hard-won. Years of struggle against the apartheid regime oppressed black South Africans and imprisoned political activist like Nelson Mandela for 27 years.

Freedom fighters dedicated their lives fighting for the human rights of all South Africans. These Freedom fighters finally achieved a free and democratic South Africa in 1994 and became icons of the struggle.

27 Years later, racial oppression has been replaced by economic oppression – with 62% of the nation unemployed and 46% of the country’s youth not registered to vote. The country was named the most unequal country on earth by Time Magazine.

The youth are angry and disenfranchised, and the government is silencing them. Government censorship and new bills are infringing on the constitutional rights to be a free citizen.

We needed to mobilise a new generation of activists to fight for freedom once again.

So, we looked to the past.

We took iconic photos from historical freedom fighters and brought a little piece of history back to life. We remade the clothes from the pictures to their exact original designs and created The Freedom Collection by Thesis – a clothing collection designed to inspire a new generation of activists. The iconic images got a new life – becoming the powerful imagery of the campaign that launched the collection.

Poster, Print, Press and In-store Collateral launched the Freedom Collection. The ads featured the historical images, repurposed into a fashion campaign. The original context and story behind the image were handwritten over it, while the clothing item had a description of what it was, the price, and how to buy it.

A bespoke look book housed the complete Freedom Collection, giving a more in-depth dive into the stories behind the fashion items and the people that fought for freedom in South Africa.