Archive for the ‘SSAFW Videos’ Category
I have to admit to being a little skeptical about the summer collections following on so soon after the winter collections that took place last month in Jo’burg – afterall, what season are we supposed to be covering here?
My doubts were confirmed after the first show on Thursday evening when two fashion editor friends told me they’d shot much of what we’d just seen a few months ago… It’s disappointing, but understandable as who has the time to design two collections so close together?
I’m pleased to report, however, that on Friday night I was happily impressed with two designers: Christopher Strong and Coppelia, whose ranges both felt playful, well thought-out and utterly wearable.
Coppelia’s, in particular, was well-designed, well-cut and the models looked comfortable wearing it (unlike the poor girl who had a serious runway wardrobe malfunction earlier in the evening). The whimsical sailboat fabric and embellished headbands added a sweet vintage charm to her range of flirty summer frocks, jumpsuits and slacks, resulting in my vote for her collection as the standout collection of the night.
I’m not crazy about lingerie on the runway, but Ruby’s peekaboo range at the SSAFW Summer collections was cute enough and I liked their printed tights.
Two’s range of summer florals were decidedly sweet and I was more than happy to get it on video, especially after missing their show at the Winter collections in Jo’burg last month.
I have to admit to being a tad nervous before meeting designer, Clive Rundle. Known for being as flamboyant as his avant-garde designs, I had no idea what to expect.
What I found an hour before his show was officially meant to start at the off-location venue of The Firs in Rosebank was a quietly stressed Rundle in his store, busy packing enormous tulle skirts into plastic in preparation for his models’ late arrival.
The flurry of panicked activity didn’t stop there – models, photographers, movers (the show also served as the launch of Clive’s new store) and dressers streamed in and out, while excited guests milled about outside, watched warily by the enormous bouncers guarding the entrance.
The collection itself was a showstopper. Dubbed a ‘lesbian wedding with an Italian grandmother’s washing label’, the models walked the runway in layers of sheer black and white tulle over deconstructed power suits that zipped up and down in all imaginable places. Provocative yet strangely restrained, it felt over-the-top without being uncomfortably opulent. A great way to end off a hell of a week…
Watch out for the Clive Rundle backstage story, shot by Chris Saunders, that will go live on iforone in the next few days.
How to revive a Fashion Week-weary crowd? Send playfully sexy numbers down the runway, and end the Soul Child show off with the bump-and-grind moves of a Michael Jackson-esque dancer that literally had some members of the audience on their feet, cheering.
The Friday night festivity of the Soul Child show might have been a hard act to follow, but the complete contrast in tone and tempo that the more restrained Soda provided brought the crowd’s attention back to the clothes.
Nicely constructed with a great deal of attention put into the overall concept, I loved the neat, clean lines of each piece… This is timeless design I would happily buy to wear for many seasons going forward.
I popped in backstage before the Lisa Jaffe show, hoping to interview the designer of the edgy Guillotine range that I’ve been following for a few years now.
Needless to say, I couldn’t have picked a worse time. It was frantic backstage, and Lisa didn’t have a moment to chat.
It’s a pity as I would have loved to have found out more about this collection, which – true to form – had structured lines, and quirky details that make you do a double take. Interesting colour palette too – navy and a peachy orange. As for the embroidered riding hats and caps the models wore – an inspired touch.
I’m a huge Tiaan Nagel fan so had high hopes for his show. I can’t say I was disappointed… I spied with my little eye some exceptionally beautiful pieces, including his last look, a fantabulous black mesh sheath with soft pink draping.
I just hated the shoes… big, clumpy platform Bata Toughie type things that did nothing for the models’ bodies, or the clothes. I know, I know… The shoes were all part of the biker dyke chic thing that was going down, and I’m fine with that. I just wish they hadn’t become such an overwhelming feature.
Anyway, enough moaning. I was still impressed with his vision, the cleverness of his ideas and his attention to tiny detail so may well have to forgive his choice of footwear.
This has, without a doubt, been the surprise collection for me at Fashion Week.
I wasn’t overly familiar with the bubbly Lebo’s work, however, her colourful collection made a huge impression on me. If you had to imagine it, think of a très sophisticated French woman who accidentally gets lost in Africa and returns as a Smartee. If that makes sense…
Her look is, as she says, for a woman confident enough to pull off trim tailoring, hourglass silhouettes, structured shoulders and crazy, ruffled necklines in pleated tartans that clash beautifully with fabrics in the boldest of brights.
Her in-your-face cheerfulness might not be everyone’s cuppa tea, especially for fashionistas who prefer to blend into the background, but if you’re looking to make a global fashion statement, African-style, Lebo Mash is the way to do it.
I met with designer Abigail Betz and her husband and business partner, Louis, before her show and can only say, ‘cute’!
The happy couple are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary today, and, Abigail says, the romance of the moment has been the major inspiration behind this year’s collection.
I have to admit however, that after meeting the designer – whose Louise Brooks bob, red lips and all-black ensemble make an immediate style statement – I was a bit disappointed with the show.
The overall package was pretty, the range lovely, and the theme, true to her word, romantic. But it didn’t feel particularly new, or directional. The more high-end, avant-garde looks (mini A-line skirts, padded at the hips, with fiercely frilled blouses) really worked, but there simply weren’t enough of them.
Then again, maybe soft and pretty just doesn’t work for me.
Karen Ter Morshuizen’s collections focus on texture, fabrics and a touchy-feely elegance, and Winter 09/10 was no exception.
This season, however, the introduction of a sexily unkempt ‘morning-after-the-night-before’ attitude, made up of accessories like black knitted fingerless gloves and beanies worn with satin evening sheaths and formal suits, kept the look young, irreverent and a little bit rebellious.
Of course, her signature choice of beautifully draped, textural fabrics make you want to touch, feel and try it all on, making Lunar’s latest range exceptionally wearable and, I’m sure, a huge hit with Ter Morshuizen’s extensive style following.
Gideon’s been missing from SSAFW for the past four years, and he’s been sorely missed. His design aesthetic is always considered, always directional and very wearable.
Add to the mix the divine Jodie Ennik who, as Gideon’s stylist and long-time collaborator/muse, is keeping the front row at SSAFW looking suitably glamorous, and you have a sussed style partnership that has created a tight collection worth taking note of.
I loved the grungy undercurrent and moody colour palette of stormy grey that kept the deconstructed Asian theme hip, as well as the street sensibility of his menswear collection – his first - that hit the mark for me with its deconstructed lines.
My favourite look of the night? The indigo-blue tie-dye evening dress that made me gape rather embarrassingly at it’s beauteousness.
My only criticism (and I could apply this to almost all the shows I’ve seen so far) is that some of the models were really stiff, and didn’t do the fluidity of his clothes any justice.
Inspired by the iconic Barbie doll that turned 50 this year, this show had its highlights and gold-lame-slashed-to-the-navel lowlights.
Don’t get me wrong: as a girl, I dressed my poor Barbie in an array of flesh-friendly outfits that would have given the most brazen of Las Vegas showgirls a run for their money… I just don’t think that the designers who focused on the more cheeseball side of the brand truly got the theme of this fashion show, which was, after all, supposed to be design relevant to the times, inspired by the sugar-high girliness that is Barbie.
Gimme more of the decadent bling-encrusted swimsuits and bathing caps by Marc And Michael, the frothy frocks by Abigail Betz, and the fabulously hairy creations by Lisa Jaffe of Guillotine, that put the ‘crimp’ back into ‘crimpolene’.
I had watched the YouTube clip of the Black Coffee show at Mercedes-Benz Berlin Fashion Week a couple of months ago, and had seen Chris Saunders’ beautiful backstage images he shot for WANTED magazine, so was well versed in the visually challenging collection that Danica Lepen and Jacques Van Der Watt sent down the runway last night at Sanlam SA Fashion Week.
By shrouding the models’ faces – so often the focus of our tunnel vision – the designers cleverly trained all eyes on the clothes.
As they should: it’s a suble study in contrasts, with bold brights playing beautifully against muted hues, stark structured pieces streamlining voluminious sheers and African elements threaded through to create interest in the details. This is South African design in its element.
Of all the female editors out there, Jackie Burger of Elle South Africa stands heads and shoulders above the rest. For one, she’s ridiculously stylish, with just the right amount of edge to keep her classics ubercool, and she’s unbelievably nice – something often missing in Magazine Land.
The Elle New Talent Awards has been rewarding to watch. I went to the launch at the Rosebank Hotel last night and got chatting with some of the finalists. All of them impressed me with their dedication to innovative design. Their only moan – it’s hard to give up your day job and make a real living from fashion. Maybe this platform will help launch them.
Well done to all the finalists for their well-thought out concepts and dedication to the theme of One World. I loved the many homages to African pride that threaded its way through the various collections.
And, of course, a huge congrats to winner Marize Malan, from Cape Town, who’s bold aesthetic and sublime clash of colours won her the prize of a future in fashion.
I love the LISOF show – it’s always jam-packed with attitude and serious street cred.
I think the design students were also very much on the money with their goth-girl vibe: denim pouf dresses, mixed with slashed tights, high-tops and leather. As a collection designed by different designers, it was forward-thinking without trying too hard, and the theme kept the concept nicely concise.
Well done to Shana Rosenthal, and her students.
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