Feet barely recovered from donning Jimmy Choos all night the night before, fashionistas once again made their way to the Sandton Convention Centre for the second instalment of Audi Joburg Fashion Week. The most exciting news of the day was the announcement of an agreement between the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SA’s main broadcaster) and Africa Fashion International (the organizers of Audi Joburg Fashion Week) that SABC 3 on-air presenters would be dressed by various young designers who participated in Audi Joburg Fashion Week. Names like Thula Sindi and Bongiwe Walaza would be broadcast to the millions of viewers watching this lifestyle channel everyday. Brilliant!

Another Mzansi history is Patrice Motsepe (mining mogul and husband to Africa Fashion International Chairperson, Precious Moloi-Motsepe) on the cover of Forbes Top 100, as South Africa’s first black billionaire.

Now onto the catwalks….

KLUK CGdT

The word couture is often thrown around carelessly in fashion but lesser known is that only companies or designers that have been listed on the Paris-based Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris can call their designs haute couture or describe themselves as a couture house.
Kluk CGDT, an amulgamation of two of Mzansi’s most prolific designers- Malcom Kluk and Christiaan Gabriel Du Toit, may not be on this list but under the definition of couture being high-fitted, custom fitting fashion, their designs are the ultimate experience of what homebrewed international couture looks and fits like. Sitting at their show, their designs could show at any fashion week in the world to acclaim. In their Autumn/Winter collection, the pair aptly interpreted the burst of colour that is set to brighten up winter fashion, creating an aura of warmth through hues like cerese, rich browns, red, black, juxtaposed with luxurious and flowing fabrics like satin, chiffon, lace, lace over satin, chiffon with satin etc.. My favourite design(hard to choose as these may have been) was the white layered one shoulder chiffon empire dress as well as the party hat and glittery masks used to accessorise the designs. Check out more from this collection on the designers section of FashionAfrica.com or Click HERE

SUN GODDESS

When you’ve been in the industry for as long as Sun Goddess has, you are confident in the knowledge that not only do you know who your customer is; they know who you are too. They can see your designs from a mile away, even without looking at the label. This reconcilability and loyalty is this label’s biggest blessing and curse. Sun Goddess, the king and queen of pre-colonial African fashion have become way too comfortable and safe in their designs. Hardly a collection goes by without the expected leather corset with flowing skirts – though in their defense, they did make them flared and slanted (as opposed to their usual A-line) this year. Watching the show and being immensely impressed by the first three garments – charcoal denim trench with exaggerated flaps on the back; leather bolero jackets with knee-high socks with pat leather heels, high waist pencil skirts with a bottom flare et al – I couldn’t help but feel that about halfway through creating innovative designs, they either ran out if ideas, or someone reminded them to be safe, again. So for the rest of the show, out came the usual corset and skirt combos, with a drop of innovation every now and again. The concept was to take the woman from the boardroom to a cocktail party and while the work wear was impressive and not as over the top as what you’d expect from Sun Goddess (a good thing), it wasn’t practical for work. A skirt without a slit – how is a girl to climb the corporate ladder?! The challenge that Sun Goddess faces right now is to do what is instinctive for the new generation designers we’ve been seeing – evolve their label to increase its appeal, while still staying true to their intrinsic values. I was really ready to be surprised by Sun Goddess and the only surprise we got was how emaciated the Mangalisos (the creators and owners of Sun Goddess) look. Apparently, they’ve hired a chef and personal trainer to go from flab to fab. Check out more from this collection on the designers section of FashionAfrica.com or Click HERE

See Ya Tomorrow!I’m quite excited about what tomorrow designers will be showing!

- Lelethu Lumkwana