CHRONICLES OF CHIC: FASHION WEEK VS FASHION WEEK (article by dailymaverick.com)
- by Emilie Gambade
- Oct 2, 2017
- 2 min read
Volumes, structured silhouettes, bright colours and soft palettes dominated the newest instalments of South Africa's Fashion Weeks. One could find not only seasoned designers' seasonal pieces for the whole year but also cutting edge clothes made by talented emerging designers. It does look like SA's future fashion has a good story to tell. By EMILIE GAMBADE.
In the years past, local fashion weeks took on their catwalks collections that sometimes were confused and messy. It was not unusual to see on the runway unfinished garments with bright threads hanging from the hemlines, outfits that had not been ironed or steamed, ranges made of incoherent bits and pieces and price-stickers left under the sole of a model’s shoes.
This creative mumbling seemed to be an acceptable norm and out of all the designers showing at fashion weeks only very few passed the test of catwalk-worthiness; which means, as suggested by Eugene Rabkin, editor of StyleZeitgeist magazine, presenting a collection that has a strong aesthetic statement, a theatrical element and meaning.
On the evidence of these seasons’ collections, both at AFI MBFW and at SAFW, it looked like the majority of the designers had done their homework and carefully ticked some of the design boxes. In keeping with a strict moodboard and a strong palette, the will was less to impress with empty oohs and aahs and disastrous folie des grandeurs, but more with edited ranges that had either a strong aesthetic, a theatrical element (as seen at Abigail Betz) or meaning, or even all of the above.
At AFI MBFW Joburg, Ayanda Mthembu did just that: editing. Under the hand and the eye of David Tlale, the young designer presented a collection like a resolute fashion statement. It was an experimentation of volumes and soft lines in nudes and light browns with rounded shoulders, tone-on-tone capes floating down the chest, pleated shorts and mini-skirts that worked as a whole but would have been as salient paired with denims or contrasted pieces. It was charming, desirable and ultra-feminine.
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