a pinch of things : SA FASHION WEEK REVIEW

Having just come back from SA Fashion Week in Johannesburg yesterday, I am inspired and still recovering from the beautiful collections presented by our South African designers, especially the new emerging designers. Watching from the net and personally being alive between the action, you would process the whole week; everything felt more intimate and literal. And, in spite of the hurried schedules, the rush of people and the vibrant atmosphere... the young designers were making quiet the efforts towards truly presenting their brands well. Their atmospheric presentations enforced a different pace of experience, and a different type of interaction with both the collections and the people they are outside the title fashion designers.

With black definitely being the focal colour for A/W 2016 derived from WGSN’s palette of endless darks using navy, grey, and matte black for AUTUMN/WINTER | 2015-2016 DESIGN TRENDS , I was tremendously blown away by ERRE's all black power dressing collection, Amos Tranque's structured-boxy range and Duke’s Caribbean inspired men’s range.

Having loved their work I had to meet them and interact with their clothing at buyers lounge that Saturday and Sunday where they turned away all shyness and took on being social superhero’s. Between Natasha’s in-depth understanding of bridal and evening-wear and Carina’s experience in tailoring and menswear these two designers for Erre continued to make a seriously winning team. Mapitso Mokhele(Mapitso), Sandile Mngadi (Duke), Vanessa Pillay (Hombre) and Nicole Hoyer (Nicole Hoyer designs) who were the 4 ramp designers trained and mentored under the KZN Fashion Council’s 21 Steps To Retail and the SA Fashion Week mentorship programme (one that included industry experts like Annette Pringle-Kölsch from the The Fashion Agent) definitely showed off their full potential in the collections.

Now it may sound a bit criminal to say, but it appeared the younger designers, by far took the creative crown in comparison to the 'older' established designers. At some point (in particular) watching Sun Goddess and JJ Schoeman's show, I felt more creative investment was needed to push their collections far from terms like 'flat' and 'pedestrian'. Sun Goddess's range was not speaking well to me, being comprised of traditional skirts that had no emotion towards innovation, inferior sewing on structured corsets and over done peplum tops cinched at the waist with contrasting budget belts with mustard labels sewn on in the most random visible places. This was one of my disappointing shows that failed to translate African traditional wear into something tasteful and fresh. JJ Schoeman on the other hand revealed something of a dull show that I described to a friend as mediocre-office-wear. His range was nothing far from a lazy season of regular retail store clothing. And knowing that He could have done so much better made the show a confusing turn-out for me.

KZN designers sang to me a love song at this years A/W2016 Show. A beautiful women’s range of saturated florals, and berry tones created a tonal colour story by Nicole, this seemed to be her tribute to the hours spent seeking inspiration, as we saw out doses of nature and paradise in her RTW garments. The emerging KZNFC menswear designer for Hombre took on inspiration from the East with amazing dramatic coats and earthy hues. Ideas under DUKE’s collection encouraged a social comfort in diverse dressing. The bold blues popping against the passive whites and male models in pleated skirts, men’s leggings and exaggerated capes spoke a design language that understood transgender and international forward thinking.

On the other hand, still feeling on menswear, Sanele for Tempracha, Andre Martin of Life and Amos Tranque gave a worthwhile and interesting show. The craftsmanship behind Sanele’ s brand got me hooked as he played with simple yet solid colours and silhouettes that bragged a silent detail. Life moved away from the timeless denims and bold stitch lines to turn out a fresh reveal of street sweatshirts with cable detailing and an eclectic fiery print that inspired a new thinking pattern when looking at his brand. This year they truly proved to be a collective to keep a good eye on.

ERRE