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SAFW THROUGH THE EYES OF ELLE

27 Sep 2011
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Senior fashion editor Poppy Evans and fashion editor Asanda Sizani on the delights and disappointments of SAFW, witnessed from the front row.

Nothing Without Nagel

Tiaan Nagel’s show was a major highlight for most on Saturday night. His collection defined sports luxe and was instantly recognisable as his own; the exposed zips, structured tailoring and indulgent textures are all strong signatures of his.

The rounded bold shoulder featured heavily throughout the collection and, styled together with knee-high socks, was reminiscent of American football kit. That said, Tiaan’s show retained its femininity with sheer layers and tactile fabrics. All in all, Tiaan presented us with a capsule wardrobe for the urban woman; although there is a clear nod towards an athletic aesthetic, the contemporary separates within the range are highly sophisticated and can be integrated into any modern wardrobe.

Tiaan NagelTiaan Nagel

Tiaan Nagel

Long Live The Maxi

None of us thought longer lengths would have quite the staying power they’ve displayed over the past few seasons; however, it seems the maxi is here for winter 2012 too. We saw many interpretations at SA Fashion Week; from cut-out vinyl at Kutloano Mokofomme, draped at Suzaan Heyns and sheer at Samantha Constable, to hand-painted at Danielle Hartman and dip-dyed at Joel Janse Van Vuren. Don’t discard yours yet – this is a trend with true longevity!

KutloanoKutloane

Kutloano Molokomme

Suzaan Heyns

Suzaan Heyns

Samantha Constable

Samantha Constable

Daniella HartmanDaniella Hartman

Danielle Hartman

Joel Janse Van VuurenRunway

Joel Janse Van Vuuren

Show Us Some Showmanship!

What really disappointed this Fashion Week was the lack of showmanship. The wow factor was missing from many a show. It seems that some designers have confused wearability with lacklustre. We have retailers for casual basics: we don’t need more of the same at Fashion Week. If it’s not new, it shouldn’t be shown for the new season. Please put the excitement back into fashion week with truly exciting clothes. Push collections a little harder; innovate, create trends, don’t copy them. We need to set standards in order to take South African fashion to the next level.

On the last day of a very uneven SA Fashion Week we felt the need to tweet: ‘At this point, we need a saviour.’ Suzaan Heyns was it. She was that big fashion moment we needed where you can see skill, attention to craftsmanship and superb finishing. From the very first perfectly constructed garment that breezed past us, you could see the satisfaction on the faces in the front row. What did it for us in her impeccable androgynous collection, was the reptilia – scaly metallic textured tops and pants paired with relaxed luxe tailoring. It was glamorous and textured with luxe fabrication used like leather and draped silk. The range was coherent, clean and uncluttered, something that was lacking in many other designers’ shows.

Catwalk 2Catwalk 3

Suzaan Heyns

Catwalk 4

Suzaan Heyns

Abstract layering was a trend evident in a number of the collections. Asanda says: ‘I am a fan of elegant tribal draping, especially when decorative and Masaai-inspired. It was refreshing to pick this up at the shows, where some designers drew inspiration from nomadic tribal dress, but made it look modern, and even glamourous.’

Catwalk 5

Amanda Laird Cherry

Catwalk 6

Sies! Isabelle

Catwalk 7Catwalk 8

Kutloano Molokomme (above left) and Suzaan Heyns (above right).

Asanda says: ‘My lust-have item from the shows is Suzaan Heyns’ new Leather Rose collection of handbags. They are crafted from exotic skins, such as crocodile, and then splashed with a bit of colour. Very luxe!’

Catwalk 9

Suzaan Heyns

Celebrities on the runway are a growing local trend. Not only does it distract from the clothing, but it seems some designers use the celebrities to elevate excitement about the shows, rather than letting the designs speak for themselves. Is there a point?

SAFWCatwalk 11

Rubicon

Catwalk 12Catwalk

Mantsho

Images courtesy of SDR

Comments

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Sandiso Ngubane on 9/27/2011: For me, this fashion week highlighted a sad case of a misunderstanding- on the part of designers- of what a collection is. As far as I am concerned a collection is not what one "designer" has managed to pull out of the hat to showcase, "Oh, look, this is what I have been busy with for the past couple of months". And sadly, this is how I felt with most of them. The only ones, in my opinion, who showcased collections are Tiaan, Suzaan and Colleen. Sorry for those who I missed, if they did.
Twanji Kalula on 9/27/2011: Loved the tribal draping. Sounds like SAFW was a mix of luxe and lacklustre - ie. it's consistent with many of our local fashion weeks... I love it when local designers bring it.
Devi on 9/27/2011: I realise that Elle has a certain standard of writing to uphold, but I can't help feeling that this review is a bit washed out: the number of times the word 'luxe' was used, sometimes in two successive sentences, or the fact that the writer was complaining about celebrities at fashion shows. It all just seems a little derivative of American Elle from 5 years ago. I recently read an article on one.dog.chicken (of all places) that reviewed the Elegance runway show, and quite frankly it puts this article to shame. As I understand, nobody from Elle showed up to that show. Yet in this SA Fashion Week review it says: "We need to set standards in order to take South African fashion to the next level". Does that not include the media, too? Perhaps smaller E-zines and fashion blogs are the way forward for this industry?
BB on 9/27/2011: "Celebrities on the runway are a growing local trend. Not only does it distract from the clothing, but it seems some designers use the celebrities to elevate excitement about the shows, rather than letting the designs speak for themselves." Couldn't have said it better myself. It's getting iritating and I couldn't wait until GJC, Rubicon and Palse Homme's shows were finished. Tiaan, Suzaan, Colleen, Joel and the Elle New Designers did it for me. The rest were just not up to standard, except for a few accessories they used, like Fundudzi's arm cuff's. Pity I didn't get to see Black Coffee's show. Did it meet expectations?
ELLE South Africa on 9/28/2011: Did Black Coffee's show meet expectations? It most certainly did. The show was more of an installation with one model elevated on a platform. The wow factor was in the presentation with creative use of lighting and screens. We loved the African prints in a palette of green and black, authentic wooden neckpieces and attention to detail in every design!
ELLE South Africa on 9/28/2011: Hi Devi, Thanks for your feedback. We can confirm that ELLE did not attend the Elegance couture runway show at Canal Walk. We receive far more invitations than we’re able to accept and unfortunately have to be selective. Our fashion team attended SAFW and the post above is based on their experience of the event.
Nel-Marié on 10/3/2011: What a lovely round up of photos.. Surprised at the talent we have in South Africa - favourite by far - Suzaan Heyns, absolutely stunning, love the mix of colours and the different textures work so well together, beautiful xx