The SA Fashion Week SS16 Collections – Part 3: Desmoiselles de Paris
Words by Ludwig Spies Photography by Simone Oranje 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. Keys Fashion SS16 All the fantasy of the grand Parisian showhouses, and perhaps of some more scandalous establishments, thrives in this collection. Shimmering mermaid dresses, seductive gauze, sequins and feathers were followed by solemn, baroque gold and white pieces. Frivolous indulgence followed by a moral check. Rubicon SS16 (Accessories by Skyler T) It seems ironic that a brand named after something intimately associated with irrevocable change should so excellently create something distinctly from a previous era. The textures and arrangements are faultless ‘30s glamour that seems to say: “You can never be too rich.” ...
The Warner Music Fashion Experience with Amos Tranque & Ephraim Malingoane at SAFW AW16
By Ludwig Spies Fashion and music have been lovers for a very long time, continuously and heavily influencing one another. Both are intensely sensorial forms of expression and together they give rise to cultural movements that embody the mood, attitudes, ideals, context and the anxieties of a generation. This year SAFW AW16 saw Warner Music SA partner with designers Amos Tranque and Ephraim Molingoana to produce a climactic end show for the week. The atmosphere in the show tent was positively electric, and the guests could not help but smile when the iconic high-pitched notes of Madonna’s Vogue rang out from the speakers. The show opened with the scientific severity of Tranque and ended with Ephymol’s richesse. The mere fact that a menswear show could be produced to showcase this juxtaposition is a testament to the development of the South African fashion industry. Read the details below. AMOS TRANQUE by Amos Tranque 1-WORD-DESCRIPTION: Fundamental DESIGN: 9/10 INNOVATION: 10/10 WEARABILITY: 9/10 In The South African Fashion Handbook Tranque explains that he draws inspiration from disciplines like psychology, science and philosophy. This intellectual orientation was evident in his collection, yet the final product was highly wearable. This must be due to a keen ability to deconstruct his sources of inspiration and apply their fundamentals in a functional way to the business of creating clothes. Hence, one cannot help but draw the parallel between Tranque and cubist painter and fellow Spaniard, Picasso. Tranque’s collection featured robust, geometric designs in a black, white and grey palette, and smooth, acrylic and vinyl textures perfected the hypermodern style of the garments. There is no doubt the South African market has gained greatly from the addition to the industry of Tranque’s fashion architecture. Web: amostranque.com Facebook: http://amostranque EPHYMOL by Ephraim Molingoana 1-WORD-DESCRIPTION: Snazzy DESIGN: 10/10 INNOVATION: 8/10 WEARABILITY: 10/10 Molingoana revisited the suave 70s with a collection of boldly patterned form-fitting suits, tailored trousers and tight long-sleeved tops with minimal collars. The cuts and the palette of muted coppers, bronzes, steel, army greens and artichoke were reminiscent of 70s playboys and older military uniforms. The garments had the fantastic effect of accentuating the contours of the male body – highlighting the shoulders, the S-curve of the spine and the perk of the derrière. Glamorous alpha masculinity with a dose of good-humoured...
Rich Mnisi on Building a Brand.
By Mariam Mahomed. 2014 AFI Fastrack winner, Rich Mnisi took the fashion world by storm with his S/S 14 collection, KOOL –AID. Magazine features, editorials and interviews sang praise to Rich’s work making him fashion’s rising star and an inspiration for young hopefuls. Now, months after his great win, Rich continues to spread the inspiration and blow minds with his label OATH. Represent caught up with Rich to find out more about OATH and his life as a fashion industry newbie. Where does the inspiration behind OATH come from? OATH is generally inspired by pop-culture, music being the main source. You’ve been out of college for less than a year but you have managed to successfully start a brand. Tell us more about that journey? OATH was more of a long-term goal but I was encouraged to nurture and develop this idea and fortunately, it was received well. What are some of the challenges that you have faced in terms of establishing your brand and how did you rise above it? I was slightly worried about the public reception of my aesthetic beyond my AFI Fastrack S/S 14 collection because this would ultimately reflect on the success of the brand. I ended up making crucial decisions to maintain aesthetic and explore its facets to strengthen the brand image despite everyone else’s expectations. If there is one lesson that you have learnt from this journey, what would it be? Being decisive in an industry that is so saturated with information. What are the opportunities and challenges facing a new comer in the South African fashion industry? People speak of loving and wanting ‘fresh’, ‘different’ and ‘high fashion’ but once they get it they find it hard to digest. It’s tough to find a room full of people nodding at your work but the greatest opportunity for anyone comes from within. If you take your craft seriously and present it authentically then people will respect it and will help take your product to the right market that will love it and would kill to own it. What advice would you give to fashion-design hopefuls? I’d like to think that I’m still one…. and advice I’d give to myself… Don’t Stop. What does a day in the life of Rich Mnisi entail I’m still doing my internship for AFI Fastrack at Egality so it’s that most of the time. But when I turn into a werewolf in the middle of the night I sketch, create mood boards, conceptualize shoots, make patterns etc. I try being cute about this design thing I have going on. What can we expect from OATH in...
Africa in the Spotlight
By Mariam Mahomed Africans are blessed with a number of things. A striking landscape, great heritage and a number of beautiful cultures. It is no wonder then that we are so proud to be from this amazing land.Our pride is only increasing now as the rest of the world notices our splendour. African inspiration is now at the forefront of trends in arts and design. From Burberry’s use of blankets in the Fall 2014 collection to the use of various afro-chic inspired prints and textures by numerous fashion houses, such as Etro, Givenchy, Mary Katrantzou and Suno, Africa seems to be the go to place for inspiration across international catwalks. Aside from the clothing, African design elements come across clearly in the accessories and jewellery pieces used and created by fashion’s most prestigious brands. Italian luxury brand, Fendi’s bold and beautiful leather and fur cuffs from their Fall 2014 show reminds us of a great African warrior and seems to be the favourite jewellery piece amongst fashion lovers across the world. Another favourite accessory from the Fall 2014 shows is the handbags from Burberry featuring colours and prints that brings about warm thoughts of African landscapes and artworks. And if conquering the world of fashion is not enough the most stunning décor and interior looks of the season boasts African design elements. Global interior and architecture web-magazine , Decoist, realises that ‘it is time to put the vivacious African continent and its captivating prints, artifacts and designs under the spotlight’ and showcases a number of exquisite African inspired interiors. Sir Richard Branson’s luxury safari retreat Mahali Mzuri showcases the perfect mix between African inspiration and contemporary architecture. The modern, exclusive and absolutely breath-taking camp-styled lodges serves as a global architectural inspiration and is an epic salute to African design. We can definitely expect an increase of African inspiration in architecture, interiors and fashion design across the world. As more magazines, blogs and other media platforms showcase this trend , African design will be available on a number of websites and retail outlets and seen in cities around the world in the next few years. Yes, the world is saying ‘Look at Africa!’ and to that we say, ‘It’s about time!’ Pictures from Style.com and...
Represent Review: Food Wine Design Fair Nov 2010
We sent our fabulara Representah Zamantungwa Khumalo (otherwise known as JoziStylista) to sample the delights at this year’s Food Wine Design Fair at Hyde Park. For more photos of the event visit our Flickr set of the event here. Over to the fab diva Zama… Sharpile sisi wami! It’s 32 degrees C on a Monday afternoon. I’m inside a computer lab on campus and the guy sitting next to me is giving me the side eye because I’ve been starring at this screen for the past hour. I find it hard to believe that, just yesterday, I was on the roof-top of the Hyde Park shopping centre for the annual Food Wine Design Fair. Why is it so hard for me to believe this? Well, for a start, it was raining cats and dogs in most of Joziland (okay maybe not cats and dogs, but definitely kittens and puppies!), I was in the company of amazing people (and not the weirdo sitting next to me) and – and this is favourite part, I was eating freshly baked bread, heaven sent chocolate brownies and drinking exotic coffee. This year’s Fair pulled out all the stops! There were exhibiters from as close as Soweto, to as far as Cape Town and Limpopo. I started off by scouting the place, walking around and going to the stall that grabbed my attention. The first one was Mielie. This small community business creates beautiful handcrafted pieces made from recycled fabric. I spent a good 30 minutes at their stall drooling over the different designs of their bags. Another stall with great bags was Barok, a Limpopo based company. They have very interesting designs and I loved their use of different textures and fabrics. Just in case you were wondering, yes, I have a bag addiction… Now that we’ve got that out of the way… I found myself in the vicinity of the food stalls and being the food lover that I am, I couldn’t resist the temptation to try out the different foods. I tried out banana chutney and it was orgasmic, to say the least! The only chutney I’d ever had before that was Mrs Ball’s Chutney. I don’t think I even knew there were other chutney’s out there. Something else I found strange yet very tasteful was beetroot jam! The shocking thing is, it wasn’t even RED! Food and design aside, the highlight of the Fair for me was the Marie Claire Pop up store. The Marie Claire stall was very interactive; it had cool gadgets, great wine, a vintage sale and a chance to meet the editors of the magazine. I didn’t...
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