SA Sanlam Fashion Week Review, Winter Collections

It was very interesting to see the kind of show the 10year SA Sanlam Fashion Week would produce for its first winter collections, ever, in Joburg. Audi Joburg Fashion Week had just produced what was also its first ever winter fashion week in Joburg. In light of how much press Audi received and the seeming feud between the two producers, the easy thing, it appeared, would have been for SA Sanlam to make some noise through an all out biggest brightest fashion week; upstaging Audi's. Instead, SA Sanlam chose a different course, a more refined approach. They limited the number of designers to only twenty carefully selected ones, provided very limited seatings to the public, invited the fashion press and made it all about the clothes and craftsmanship, rather than the hype. Smart move!

However, for the most part, the collections in the first ever SA Sanlam Winter Fashion Week lacked any excitement and maybe used too much monochromatic and dull colors and fabrics; not exactly what you would expect from South Africa, even during winter. The "Africa" aspect is got to count for something. That something are vibrant eclectic colors that say"Africa" toned down with classic or simple silhouettes. This season, "Africa" was amiss. Nevertheless, there were some designs that stood out and some that left us no choice but to call it what it was, plain oshi! [Photos courtesy of SA Sanlam Fashion Week, http://www.safashionweek.co.za/]

WE LIKED

Thula Sindi’s BLACK AMBITION: Thula Sindi was indeed about the bold, black ambitious woman with use of colorful fabrics in yellow, vinyl and leather. A cute and possible trend was the big colorful belt seen below.

Bongiwe Walaza’s SHWE SHWE : Shwe Shwe is an interesting South African fabric with origins in Germany. The fabric made a comeback this season and Bongiwe was among the many designers who flirted with it in her collection. Bongiwe cut Shwe Shwe in simple silhouttes and focused on a clean finishing to get the Ladybrile woman ready for a relaxed day at the office. To obtain an even more professional look, pair it with a solid blazer, solid color pumps that complement the blazer and accesorize with some earings. Don't forget the touch of makeup to bring some color to your face. Now you are set. So shwe swhe your way into that executive meeting or promotion!

Colleen Eitzen-Layering : Eitzen was all about layers this season. With color palettes of mostly gray and black, and fabrics that wrapped as comfortably as jersey, she created the favorite below worn by Nigeria's South Africa based model Doyin Hasstrup. The layering of black tulle underneath the dress and the big corset belt makes this look perfect for winter in Africa, Europe and definitely the States!

PALESA MOKUBUNG-African Chieftancy: Mokubung reminded us of Africa's many Chiefs before the colonial period. The choice of solid blue instead of the pattern fabrics gives Chieftancy a whole new modern, sleek look. This is strictly for the confident Ladybrille man who is playful and unafraid to connect with his African roots.

WE DID NOT LIKE

SOUL SPICE:The label spiced it up with colors but went bland with the very generic overly repeated fabric and silhouette that says, "I'm just here and I have no idea why."

JJ SCHOEMAN: It is obvious Schoeman pays careful attention to design details. It is also obvious the collection lacked creativity because of its repeated looks seen a trillion times across the globe on many runways season after season. For a national brand with an eye towards the international audience, especially the Ladybrille woman in the West, there is no incentive for the Ladybrille Woman to buy Schoeman rather than Coco Chanel. Creativity, especially in fabric choice goes a long way.

“HOUSE OF OLE” SHOWED SOME OSHI

We have no idea what “Ole” actually means in South Africa BUT in Nigeria, among the Yoruba people, it means “thief.” It appears "House of Ole" stole some pink dresses this season from female models and forced it on poor male models who are victims of the label's obvious sexual identity issues this season. Bless the heart of models for the oshi that they are sometimes made to wear on the runway. Is this a male spin on the 1920s flapper boyish androgynous looks? Not working because the male looks very male. The themes proposed by "House of Ole" for this season were “classic, perfect tailoring and texture.” Where are they? We can't even see the pants to assess how they were made or constructed. The functionality is also lost. Do SA men wear this around SA or to the office, or to hang with the ladies? or the fellas? "House of Ole" you are under arrest under LFPC section 211 for Fashion Robbery. The facts and further LFP investigation clearly reveals your line used forced to take one of the female model's pink dress for your collection, a fashion crime indeed!
More Oshi from "House of Ole."
It’s not fun when clothes are so tight, especially on men. Don't want to kill those sperm cells. You might need it. The wrinkles in the crotch area and the fabric selection makes this an obvious no, no! The clothes again look like they were stolen. Not cool. "House of Ole," for a revamped stlying, should try a relaxed brown pants with the shirt and loose the vest. I think the vest belongs to the model above.