PUMA & Trapstar Bring The Noise to SA
by Stuart Hendricks Streetwear aficionados will be familiar with London-based label, Trapstar, and its edgy, urban aesthetic. Trapstar was created from underground, inner-city subculture, with design influences ranging from cinema, photography and music to contemporary art and military references. Their bold, graphic t-shirts and hoodies, tough leather biker jackets, and LDN-repping caps have become a firm favourite amongst the likes of Rihanna, Rita Ora, Iggy Azalea, A$AP Rocky and Cara Delevingne. The brand has truly become an ambassador for a new era of forward-thinking creative minds. To add an athletic edge to their non-conformist streetstyle character, Trapstar have partnered with PUMA to reinterpret Trapstar’s gritty silhouette and add a fresh, injection of athleisure that wouldn’t be out of place in London’s white-wall quarters. The Trapstar X Puma Autumn/Winter ‘16 teaser features the classic PUMA Disc amplified with the iconic ‘white noise’ graphic design of Trapstar. In turn, PUMA’s style has slinked its way into the Trapstar Leadcat. This football-inspired slide is set to become the elevated streetwear item of the year. Completing the teaser trio is the PUMA X Trapstar football jersey. Produced from the same soft, engineered jacquard, with dry-cell technology, as other football gear, the jersey is a tense clash of inspiration merging functional sportswear with underground attitude. Where you would expect a club emblem you’ll find the Trapstar shield The white noise print is incorporated as patch inserts, tying the jersey and the other items into a strong capsule range. The PUMA X Trapstar teaser collection will be available from 17 June 2016 at PUMA SELECT stores in Bree Street, Cape Town and Braamfontein, Johannesburg, as well as selected retailers....
This is cashmink: FRAAS – The Scarf Company Opens Flagship Store in Joburg
FRAAS – The Scarf Company opened its South African flagship store Wednesday evening in The Mall of Africa in Midrand, Johannesburg. The name may be unfamiliar to many, but the company is the largest manufacturer of scarves in the world. The word ‘manufacturer’, however, does not do their craft justice. In fact, words generally fail to fully describe the creations you’ll find in the FRAAS boutique. Painstakingly prepared fabrics are finely woven into a range of scarves, wraps, ponchos and ruanas. Each item will enthrall you with a delicacy and a softness so incredible that you will find it virtually impossible to keep your hands to yourself. As you stroke over the collection of cashmere, silk and virgin wool, it feels as though the fabric caresses you back. The FRAAS House is built on a near-religious passion for textiles. Established in Germany in 1880 by Valentin Fraas, the company has well over 100 years of innovation experience, woven into every new item. Andreas Schmidt, executive director and 5th generation head of the company, recounts how this continuous innovation process led to the creation of their unique, trademarked fabric known as cashmink: “We didn’t set out to make this or that. But we have always been working towards creating, towards discovering, something new and wonderful. When the weavers first presented this fabric, soft as cashmere with the sheen of mink, someone said ‘This is cashmink’.” Cashmink® is a synthetic fabric and no animals are harmed in order to obtain the raw materials, making it a sustainable and ethical alternative to real furs. If you’re bored with simply hanging your scarf around your neck, join FRAAS’s online community and keep an eye out for their new lookbook featuring SA fashionistas and styled by Joburg mode-maker Kennedy Molekwa: Facebook: FRAAS Twitter: @fraas_scarf Instagram: @fraas.scarf...
The SA Fashion Week SS16 Collections – Part 6: Athleisure, Edge & Glamour
The common problem with fashion writing is that we either overlook the most brilliantly conceived and painstakingly produced elements of a collection – or we ramble on, praising, criticising, fainting and gasping to a point where it’s no longer clear whether we’re talking about coats, shoes or an obscure branch of 19th Century philosophy. So we set ourselves this challenge for the SAFW SS16 Collections: reveal the essence of each collection – in less than 50 words. AfrikanSwiss SS16 A hardcore collection with lots of denim, stiffened leather and heavy zipping. Harsh paint splash detail, black ‘oil streaks’, exaggerated patchwork and rough dye patterns on overalls and jumpsuit-styles come together to create blue-collar chic. Esnoko SS16 Relatively plain and conventional arrangements are cut from fabric printed with kaleidoscope patterns. Old school lines and newspaper boy caps contribute to the fanciful mood of the collection and remind of carnivals and colourful townships. Touch of Bling (ToVch) SS16 Looks from 80s New York street-style (think Beastie Boys) gradually merge into sleeker, classical cuts with African hints. Sharp, cool and very much for the night. D.O.P.E. SS16 The perfect streetwear collection for residents who live in cities where temperatures skyrocket in summer. It’s nonchalant, unconcerned and breezy. The racquetball prints on pale colours are fun and pretty without being childish, and the cuts comprise the best of shapely athletic...
The SA Fashion Week SS16 Collections – Part 5: Scouting Menswear in Association with GQ Magazine
Words by Ludwig Spies Photography by Simone Oranje Additional photo edits by Stuart Hendricks The common problem with fashion writing is that we either overlook the most brilliantly conceived and painstakingly produced elements of a collection – or we ramble on, praising, criticising, fainting and gasping to a point where it’s no longer clear whether we’re talking about coats, shoes or an obscure branch of 19th Century philosophy. So we set ourselves this challenge for the SAFW SS16 Collections: reveal the essence of each collection – in less than 50 words. Floyd Avenue SS16 The winner of SS16 Scouting Menswear presented a relaxed collection of manzanilla-toned khaki. Apart from some Indian silhouettes, the palette, overall-style suits and leather strap harness details are solidly located in the safari trunk of a gentleman explorer. Hombré SS16 Poison green, black and snakeskin warn onlookers that a bite from a boy who wears this collection will take you down in 10 minutes. Dangerous, seductive and slick. Non-European SS16 The calm silhouettes and light fabrics contain hints of Asia and Africa, but the collection strongly hearkens back to North America before the arrival of Europeans. Feather accoutrements, and bead and embroidery detail around the collars adorn the garments with a dreamy, mythic quality. Zamaswazi SS16 Zooty blocks and strips of colour, pleats, grid patterning, and unusual Springbok skin detail offer the perfect ensemble to the modern dandy. It’s uptown funk with a slightly inflated ego. House of St Luke SS16 This collection is a vibrant, heady mix of tropical prints and colours. Afro-Asian headdresses are combined with candy-coloured sport shoes and country club shorts. It’s the kind of psychedelic you’d expect from African expats on the Paris art scene. Martelle Ludik SS16 Dark, brooding fabric, dishevelled layers, tears and largeness create a heavy, gritty and aggressive collection that unashamedly seeks to arouse and challenge anyone who sees it. The collection boldly moves beyond androgyny towards genderqueer and gender-bending. Rogue SS16 The winner of Scouting Menswear AW16 returned with another collection true to the post-apocalyptic, urban inspirations of the brand. The palette and cuts are cool, stark and functional, and this mood is entrenched by the plastic buckle-clip details. Grey concrete and windswept coastlines come to...
The SA Fashion Week SS16 Collections – Part 4: Cape to Cairo
By Ludwig Spies Photos courtesy of planetivan.com The common problem with fashion writing is that we either overlook the most brilliantly conceived and painstakingly produced elements of a collection – or we ramble on, praising, criticising, fainting and gasping to a point where it’s no longer clear whether we’re talking about coats, shoes or an obscure branch of 19th Century philosophy. So we set ourselves this challenge for the SAFW SS16 Collections: reveal the essence of each collection – in less than 50 words. By DS SS16 The high-sheen, sultry outfits printed with West and Central African designs possess all the sensual flamboyance of those regions. Interestingly, the warm, ceramic palette, geometric patterning and some of the sexier cuts would not be out of place in ‘60s America and Britain. Loayo Art & Creations SS16 (Accessories by EG Jewellery) This collection most strongly showcases Arabic influences on African garments. Each ensemble includes a unique headdress carefully assembled to complement the outfit. The Post-Impressionist faces printed on some pieces seem drawn from paintings of island cultures by Gauguin – a social statement, perhaps? African Style Story SS16 A somewhat muted collection that turns away from finery. Simple and plain, the garments carry a strong mood of traditional honour and quiet dignity, and resemble those worn by women along the East African coast. Urban Zulu SS16 The white-cloth pieces of this collection possess all the virginal dignity of traditional Zulu attire. The dark-cloth pieces, however, constitute a gritty glamorous, surreal and brooding contrast that fully explains the name of the label. Liz Ogumbo SS16 Resplendent, regal African ensembles live comfortably next to reimagined colonial safari gear for women. Although the European garments retain their traditional cuts and arrangements, they are Africanised with boldly patterned and coloured fabrics....
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