Women's Day: The Third Act: Celebrating the Evolution of Women
Every great story has different chapters. The Third Act as coined by Jane Fonda is where experience becomes confidence, curiosity deepens, and years of learning brings new perspectives.
It's a chapter many women enter later in life, bringing with them decades of experience.
Women over 50 already control 27% of all consumer spending and an estimated $31.8 trillion globally. And yet less than 4% of advertising spend is aimed at them. The most economically powerful generation of women in history is also the most creatively overlooked.
Women over 50 are launching businesses, leading industries, creating extraordinary work and shaping communities with decades of knowledge behind them. Their influence is immense. Their stories deserve to be celebrated and shared.
We are starting this series with an interview with our founder, Amanda who continues to find joy and purpose in the work she loves.
Left: Visiting Japan. Right: Researching at Sanbi
Q&A WITH AMANDA
Amanda, founder of Evolution Products, has spent over fifteen years building a brand inspired by natural history, local craftsmanship, and the belief that beautiful things should be made with intention. We sat down with her to talk about what it means to be a woman in business, and what the Third Act looks like from where she stands.
What was the first moment you remember trusting your own creative eye - before anyone told you it was good?
I made my first outfit in high school from a collection of dusting cloths in pastel shades. It was met with great enthusiasm by my friends and my design dream was ignited.
Before founding Evolution, you built a successful career in fashion. What inspired you to create your own path, and why did you start Evolution?
My young boys. The long hours of the fashion industry, often 12-hour days, weren't compatible with raising a young family. But I also knew my creative journey wasn't over. I still wanted to create, trade and make something relevant.
I began by consulting to a variety of brands, which gave me the flexibility to balance work and family. As my youngest son turned three in 2010, a tie weaver in Wynberg approached me with an opportunity. He wanted to evolve his business beyond ties into homeware textiles to expand his reach, volumes and relevance. Evolution evolved from there.
Left: Big smiles launching Evolution in 2010 at Rooms on view. Right: My eldest son and a few of his friends as tiny ambassadors of Evolution at our launch.
Left: Amanda in high school with her pastel dusting cloth outfit. Right: Amanda and her sons in 2011.
You have been building Evolution for over fifteen years. What does that kind of longevity teach you that nothing else can?
Our beautiful country has so many stories to share, through people, nature and our varied origins. It is a privilege to research these narratives and translate them into textiles for the home. Reinventing a brand over 15 years requires lots of energy and the younger members of the Evolution team pushes me to stay relevant while staying true to who we are.
What does the concept of the Third Act mean to you, and do you feel you are living it?
I was recently introduced to the concept of The Third Act during a conversation with someone who has since become a dear friend. We were talking about purpose, legacy and the value that comes with experience, and he mentioned Jane Fonda's idea of life unfolding in different acts. I immediately connected with it. Each stage of life invites us to pause, reflect and redefine what matters most.
I feel like I'm living my Third Act. It's a time when experience brings confidence and clarity, and there's a stronger desire to create something lasting. For me, that means sharing what I've learned over the years, evolving Evolution into a heritage textile brand, and spending more time researching and supporting the artisans and manufacturers who help bring our collections to life.
Women in their Third Act are also becoming one of the most economically influential generations in history. They control more wealth than women of the same age ever have before, while living longer, healthier lives. That creates an exciting opportunity, not just to keep contributing, but to lead, mentor, innovate and continue evolving with purpose.
The Third Act isn't about slowing down—it's about living with greater intention. How do you balance the many roles you hold while still making space for yourself?
The shift in energy, well-being and physical strength over the last ten years has been the real challenge to manage. I'm turning 59 this year, my boys are grown and independent, and my team is experienced enough to run without me hovering, which has finally given me the space to prioritise my own well-being.
I've always loved to exercise, but I've had to adjust my expectations of my body. Weight training now serves me far better than cardio, which drains me. A sauna after training helps recovery, and Pilates and stretching keep my body functional. The biggest mental shift has been giving myself permission not to train when I'm exhausted, letting go of the guilt and listening to my body.
Nature and hiking in our beautiful country as well as walks with friends have replaced mental coaching sessions. And I still love the parts of the job that first pulled me in, sitting with my team, working through the next project, design or manufacturing challenge. In my Third Act, I hope to keep adding value to our brand and to the industry we've helped build.
How has your process — the way you gather ideas, make decisions, trust your gut, changed over the years?
When I started Evolution, I assumed I'd use the same design process I'd used building fashion ranges like Oaktree. I quickly realized that doesn't work when you're operating on your own, without a large brand's capital to travel and source at will. You can't force the creative process, it happens in layers. A visual, a poem, a song, a museum visit can ignite an idea, and that idea might make a sharp turn mid-design into something else entirely.
Early on, the range would start from a single set of historic visuals. Now it's five or six layers of research woven together.
Left: Amanda and her friends on a hike. Right: Hiking the Leopards Trail
Left: Diana Wall ~ Previous Curator at Museum Africa, Middle & Right: New York exhibition visits
New York Now exhibition with Devon our previous designer.
What do you know now about building a creative business that you wish someone had told you when you started?
When I started in buying in the 1980's, I thought the creative side of the business would always be the most exciting part. But I've come to realise that stock holding, stock turn, gross profit and net profit can be just as creative and stimulating to analyse as the latest design trends.
Looking back, which chapter of your life has taught you the most about resilience, gratitude and perspective?
Living alongside my husband, who runs his own company in an environment far more brutal than mine, has taught me the most. He's always treated his team and collaborators with the utmost respect, prioritised our family and our well-being, and carried himself in a way that keeps us both grounded. His resilience in tough times has been a real example of staying strong and focused when things could easily fall apart. He was incredibly supportive when I was diagnosed with cancer, running our household, giving me space to rest and recover, all while running his own business.
I've been blessed with a family that supports what I create. When I was diagnosed in 2020, my mom, as always, had the most encouraging message. She was upset about the diagnosis but instead of just sympathising, she said, "When you're through this, you're going to create your best work ever." Nearing the end of my cancer treatments, I was invited to collaborate with Grootbos on developing a textile collection, one of the most fulfilling projects Evolution has ever done. My mom always knows what to say.
And what have you learnt out of this chapter? How did you apply this to your business?
The reason you build something, and the reason you continue building it, can only remain meaningful if you have the support of the people closest to you. As much as I love to design, trade and "smous", it should never come at the expense of my family, the values of the company, or my own or my teams health and well-being.
Creating Cyanotypes for our 100% Design Africa stand.
Left: 100% Design Africa textile award 2014. Middle: Maison et Object in Paris. Right: Darling friend Marleen supporting my first show at Maison in Paris.
Left: Amanda and her husband, Rudolf. Right: Amanda and her mom, Bella in Namibia
If you sat across from the younger Amanda who founded Evolution, what would you want her to know is coming?
I'd tell her about the history lessons from palaeontologists, the professors passionate about mosses and fossils, the archival finds that make curators cry with joy when rediscovered. About meeting some of the most passionate people in this country, people making a real difference in their communities every day. About collaborating with designers on some of the most beautiful, award-winning lodges and hotels.
I'd tell her how the brand would grow through newly graduated creatives, given the space to build experience and confidence. How Khulekani, who started as my gardener, became a master dye alchemist. How Seeng grew from a shy, uncertain seamstress (having worked under far less generous management elsewhere) into someone confident enough to create our wall art and quilts and tote bags from our offcuts. How Meriette, retrenched from a factory, found her footing making up our bespoke designs. How I'd ask a longtime friend to step in and manage our finances when our accountant moved abroad, and how she became not just our financial wizard but a real sounding board and confidant.
It has been such an adventure, such a privilege. And I'd want her to know that what she started still matters, that the stories she uncovered might be remembered for another decade or two. It all worked out in the end. She should keep creating, exploring and driving her little VW beetle to explore.
What would you say to a woman who is standing at the beginning of something new, a bit later in life than she expected, and wondering whether it is too late?
A few years ago I met an extraordinary woman in her 80's, creative and brave. She worked in the tapestry weaving industry and her relationship with a well-known artist gave rise to an entirely new category of art. In her 80s, she bought a brand-new Land Rover, drove around the country, hired a trainer to stay strong, and created the most beautiful tapestries I've ever seen. Her work will outlast her by decades.
So it's never too late. Follow your passion. Share your experience, share your knowledge, and create something that gives you joy.
Evolution adventures over the years.
Left: First official picture without my wig after chemo treatments. Right: Design planning with Xander.
Nature, always our greatest inspiration.
