At the last installment of Audi Joburg Fashion Week, fashionistas, media and celebrities put on their Saturday best to bid a fashionable farewell to a week of fabulousness, style, innovation, partying and schmoozing. The debate about David Tlale’s collection the night before was still hot on everyone’s lips, with a clear division amongst the fashion-forward, who loved the collection and the rest who ‘just didn’t get it.’ A good point was made that, as men become more in touch with their feminine side and with fashion becoming more fantasy (another much explored trend this year), so their clothing starts to reflect this, something which Tlale’s collection resonated with.

THULA SINDI

‘You’re gonna love what you’ll see tomorrow,’ he promised me as I was leaving Sandton Convention Centre the night before. Not only did I love the avante-garde and globalised look of his collection; his finishing on each garment, attention to detail and his innate understanding of a woman’s body and how clothes should look on it had many people comparing him to the likes of Valentino. His clothing has timeless femininity and make a statement without being loud about it. What I admire the most about Thula is that he hasn’t pigeon-holed himself into a certain kind of designer – each range that he creates shows his growth as a person and as a talent; he not only creates fashion, he lives, breathes and talks it. ‘If you have an hour to spare, ask me about fashion,’ he says.

When he was chosen as one of the designers to show at Paris Fashion Week last year, many people argued he wasn’t ready. Did he understand the concept of creating a collection on a global platform? Would he have enough resources and support? Whether he was ready or not, is now irrelevant. The fact is, his international appearance opened up his exposure and honed in him a global interpretation of fashion and life, an aesthetic, which was clearly evident in the pieces he chose; the textures he fused and colours he used. Thula Sindi is inspired, with a talent bigger than his ego ( a missing chip in many designers) and his Autumn/Winter collection was easily the highlight of the week. In South Africa, he dresses celebrities like Penny Lebyane (Metro fm DJ), Uyanda Mbuli (socialite and TV presenter) and Precious Moloi-Motsepe, who were all wearing his designs this week. Thought-leaders in the industry, expect, that Thula will be showing on international catwalks, among big wigs like, er Valentino, Zac Posen, D&G et al. When he does, we’ll be sitting in the front row, cheering him on. See his collection in the designers section of FashionAfrica.com or Click HERE

STONED CHERRIE

‘Love is the only thing that’s true. It’s all we really have,’ Nkhensani Manganyi, founder and creative director of Stoned Cherrie recently said in an interview with Glamour Magazine (SA). This sentiment is what inspired her Autumn/Winter range, the Love Movement. As the show began, ushers swirled incense sticks all over the room, with the sound of the train moving evoking a sense of going on an adventurous journey. For the first time ever, I and I’m sure many in the audience experienced Stoned Cherrie as we never have before. The label has (finally) moved beyond the Sophiatown aesthetic, showcasing a re-birth and (re)turn to innovation. The range, like other collections before it drew inspiration from colour, using red silks fused with leathers and accessorized with green, yellow, brown stockings with creative ‘doodle’ leading up the calf. The theme of love was extended to heart motifs at the bottom of skirts and dresses, mixed with other feminine motifs like flares, bias cut pleats and drapes. Shirt dress trenches in check with red lining, cocoon shaped multi-coloured cocktail frocks and lingerie inspired satin wrap dresses with Masai earrings worn as hair brooches painted a picture of a woman who’s on a journey live and love. The range was so emotionally touching, it made me want to fall in love (and max out my credit card on all those stunning dresses!). To view this collection search for Stoned Cherrie in the designers section of FashionAfrica.com or Click HERE.

GAVIN RAJAH

Last night I had a dream about Gavin Rajah. Well, not about him, him, I dreamt of his clothing. In the dream, we were at a cocktail party, dressed in exotic look Kimonos and chiffon obi belts, having the time of our lives. Strangely enough, the dress sense didn’t seem at all out of place, given that we were in a penthouse in Jozi, South Africa. This sentiment, this feeling of unification and global village living is exactly what Rajah was going for in his Paris Summer/Spring 08 collection. Inspired by a Roy Liechtenstein painting on a wall in his friend’s house in London, Gavin researched comic literature and art and the origins of Manga as well as its impact in contemporary culture. In the 40s, Manga art was used by Japanese people to send secret codes to one another during the country’s occupation by the US. Decades later, Gavin took this secret language and art form and married it with contemporary fashion trends. With rich brown flowing kimono gowns with embellished gold OBI; empire line chiffon cocktail dresses with embellishment at the waist; green leopard print one shouldered kaftan dresses with embellishments – Rajah’s Paris collection echoed the influence of comic art while still being subtle, luxurious and stylish. Like many other global luxury brands, his inspiration is taken from the streets. Still, he doesn’t take this too literally. ‘You don’t always have to be obvious,’ he said later. ‘My work is African by virtue of the fact that I am African – why do I have to use shweshwe to defend that identity? Similalry, with Manga, I wanted to extend the theme subtly and include other influence to show the world as one tribe. To view the collection, visit the designers section on FashionAfrica.com or Click HERE.

On that climatic end, the first of our six fashion weeks ended and fashionistas partied until the morning at one of Jozi’s most exclusive clubs. In the four days to come, we all shall recover, plan our wardrobes, max our credit cards on new outfits for Sanlam Fashion Week which starts on 14^th March at Museum Africa, Newtown, Joburg.

- Lelethu Lumkwana