There's a moment in the manufacturing process — somewhere between the first cut of fabric and the final pressing of a finished piece — where you really start to appreciate what a tie represents. I've been in this industry long enough to remember when the question wasn't whether to order custom ties, but rather how many dozens you needed and when you needed them. These days, that conversation has shifted considerably, and I find it fascinating to watch how the market has evolved, particularly here in South Africa where our relationship with formal dress has always had its own distinct character.

It's worth stepping back to consider how we arrived here. When the British public school tradition took hold across the Commonwealth during the 19th and early 20th centuries, the striped tie became something far more than a garment. It became a symbol of belonging, of institutional identity, of shared values stitched quite literally into silk and polyester. South Africa absorbed this tradition deeply, and our school system — with its strong emphasis on uniform heritage — became one of the most consistent markets for custom ties for schools on the continent. That tradition hasn't disappeared. If anything, I would say the school market remains the most stable and arguably the most meaningful segment of the ties South Africa industry today.

What has changed is the corporate landscape. Back in the day, ordering a run of custom ties for your company was simply what you did. Banks, insurance firms, large retailers — every organisation worth its salt had a branded tie, and tie manufacturers like ourselves at Vinuchi would handle order after order of woven corporate ties, each carrying a logo or pattern that employees wore with genuine pride. The 1970s and 1980s were, one could say, the golden era of corporate identity expressed through neckwear. Don't get me wrong, that market hasn't vanished — but it has certainly become more selective, more considered, and frankly more interesting because of it.

The distinction between printed ties and woven ties is something I raise with clients constantly, because it matters enormously to the end result. A printed tie gives you colour flexibility and faster turnaround, and for certain applications it's perfectly appropriate. But a woven tie — where the pattern or logo is built directly into the fabric structure during manufacturing — carries a weight and a permanence that printed simply cannot replicate. When schools invest in custom ties for schools through a quality manufacturer, they're making a long-term identity statement. The same applies to corporate clients who understand that a woven tie sitting in a presentation box is a completely different product from something knocked out on a printer overseas.

And this brings me to a point I feel strongly about: the difference between tie manufacturers and what I'd loosely call tie makers. A tie manufacturer operates with an understanding of materials, construction, and the full production process. We source appropriate fabrics, we understand interlining weights, we know how a tie should behave when knotted and how it should recover after a long day. Too many businesses these days are essentially middlemen — they send a design file offshore and receive finished goods back with no real insight into what was produced or why certain quality decisions were made. At Vinuchi, our manufacturing is rooted in genuine craft knowledge, and I believe that distinction is increasingly important to clients who are ordering custom ties as a serious brand investment rather than a novelty item.

The ties South Africa market is genuinely compelling when you look at it clearly. We have a school sector with deep institutional traditions, a corporate sector that is rediscovering the power of considered dress, and a growing awareness that locally manufactured products carry both quality advantages and supply chain reliability. Custom ties aren't a relic — they're a refined tool for identity, and organisations that understand that tend to use them very deliberately.

I would say we're entering an era where less volume but higher intention is the defining trend. Clients ordering custom ties these days are doing so with real purpose: a school reinforcing its heritage, a law firm distinguishing its partners, a sports club marking a milestone. That intentionality is, to my mind, exactly where this industry should be heading.