Bathu celebrates iconic Alexandra township with new shoe range 10/43

• The name 10/43 comes from founder Theo Baloyi’s address where he grew up and where the Bathu concept was born in Alexandra.
• The shoe comes in three colour iterations that illustrate the map of Alexandra on the back of the shoe.
• Bathu prides itself on giving back to the communities it draws inspiration from through their foundation donating school shoes.

Sneakerheads have a new offering up for grabs that celebrates the journey of one of South Africa’s most recognised local shoe brands.

The evening of 26 March 2024 gave way for an intimate and sophisticated launch of Bathu’s latest shoe launch the 10/43 range, the third in founder Theo Baloyi’s latest range after the release of Khalanga and Ndofaya shoe ranges.

The air buzzed with excitement as media personality and MC for the evening Bontle Modiselle welcomed the guests to dive into the creative process behind 10/43 before renowned musician Mörda took to the decks to liven up the festivities.

While the man of the hour couldn’t make the launch, Cedrick Diphoko, managing director of Bathu explains how Theo’s product and development team carried out the vision of a shoe that drew inspiration from and paid homage to Theo’s hometown, the township of Alexandra.

“When we gave them the idea when we said that we wanted to celebrate the transaction and the moments, right, they started sketching. So, what you see, ladies and gentlemen, those cross lines are actually the map of Alexandra.

“So, they decided to then take the map of Alexandra and the story behind 10/43 and infuse it within our product that you will later see.”

READ MORE | Founder of Bathu, Theo Baloyi | Walking his journey

Three colour iterations of the 10/43 range are available at a price of R1 500.

The back of the shoe artfully illustrates the map of Alexandra that inspired the name of the collection – a name that came from where Theo grew up and where the first sale was made, number 43, 10^th avenue in Alexandra.

The map of Alexandra illustrated on the back of the Bathu 10/43 range.

Photo: Ntombi Khulu

Since the brand’s inception in 2015, Bathu prides itself on celebrating South African storytelling and pride in the local communities that inspired the different collections.

With the Khalanga range named after Theo’s tribal clan name, Ndofaya paying homage to Sophiatown and the resilience of Black people and the 10/43 drawing directly from Theo and the brand’s humble beginnings in Alexandra, one might question how they support the very communities they draw from.

READ MORE | Soweto-born Mduduzi Mnisi is creating success one sneaker at a time

Speaking to TRUELOVE, Cedrick dives into the philanthropic work that Bathu does that makes sure that the local communities they draw inspiration from are not left behind.

“We told the story emotionally before, right. We were telling the Alex story … and in what we are trying to do now, we are trying to put the product as a catalyst of everything. In making sure that we’re leaving no man behind, especially the different local communities, we have a property called the CSI, the Bathu for Batho Care Foundation, that seeks to donate 10 000 school shoes to underdeveloped communities.

“To date, we’ve dropped like a good 100 000, right, and these are non-commercialised school shoes. So, we are planting the seed to the upcoming people, the doctors, the lawyers, the future president of South Africa and we say, ‘Here’s a pair of school shoes, walk your journey. But we want to make sure that we reach you at a touch point and we don’t leave you behind.”