From the main entry of Mall of Africa’s top-level car parking to the fashion show door, ankara prints and special edition designs made statements that did not need to be translated.
Whether it was how they were worn or who wore them that made the statements even bolder, is a discussion for another day.
Already by the doorstep though, one could almost be certain that a jaw-dropping show awaits.
For SA fashion week 2023’s first day, three shows were lined up and it started with the new talent before venturing into the most experienced of designers.
The first show featured fresh, young designers who were showcasing their work of art for the first time on the world-class stage.
Upon entry backstage, Drum was met with one of the young designers’ visible nerves. As he made his way out to the make-up area for a chat, he was shaking with joy. He was still in disbelief about what he had just pulled off.
“I feel good!”
For him, seeing the final piece of the puzzle come together was “a dream come true because every designer wants to be part of this show”.
Not only was it the first time that he was showing at SA fashion week, but it was also his first offering of women’s wear.
“Mostly, my label has been operating under men’s wear but this is my first offering of women’s wear. [The expansion] has been good. It’s something that I knew that I was going to do somewhere along the line but it so happened that it came sooner than I expected.”
His label - Messrsbasswood - is a persona he wanted to create through his designs.
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Having his work shown on the runway wasn’t always his dream though. After high school, Sfiso wanted to study micro-biology but life redirected him to fashion school in 2012.
“I had no idea that this would be the route I take… but somehow I found myself here. It only made sense to me like two months ago when I visited my grandmother’s house and I saw that she had a sewing machine, so I was like ‘maybe this is where the skill comes from’.”
“It’s not me, it’s just a gift that has been passed down and I’m just the one who seems to be actualising it but it’s not mine,” he says, giggling.
The KwaZulu-Natal-born designer first worked at House of Olay and he says that being a part of SA fashion week joins his contribution to Lagos fashion week in 2021 in the list of his proudest achievements in his career.
In the show that followed, Michael Ludwig took over the runway with a “psychological analysis of the ego which interprets your conscious and unconscious mind and it’s responsible for the self-image and the reality of what you perceive”.
His colourful range was all about “self-acceptance and finally coming to terms with the woes and niceties of your personality and who you are”.
With every garment of his that showed, a chapter of a story unfolded until it all came together with a tail-ending kimono robe.
This being his third SA fashion week show, he made sure to challenge the norms of modelling by bringing in a full-figured woman.
“A lot of my clients are plus-size and curvaceous and they love their bodies so that was missing from my runway [last year] so this eason I wanted to consciously incorporate that on the runway. The garment that she’s wearing is a one-size-fits-all so even if you go from skinny to big, back to skinny, the garment will still be there for you.”
As Drum walked around asking guests what their favourite range from the whole night was, Thula Sindi and Palesa Mantsho’s made it to most of the mentions. Befitting to end the show on a high note, Palesa shut down the show instead.
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Introducing her range with a theatrical set-up, Maleh serenaded the crowd with her soothing songs from the beginning to the end when Palesa took to the ‘throne’ on stage with a bouquet of flowers.
The inspiration behind it all was “women”.
“Women, for me, are always at the centre of my inspiration; what we are capable of, the fact that I can do it and I’m realizing more and more that I was built to do it all.”
For her, fashion designing is neither a hobby nor a career, it is a “bloodline thing, it is in my lineage” because she is from a family of creatives. In fact, she works with graphic designer brother to pull of the “sick” designs that she does.
“There is lots of layering, there is lots of attention to detail, intricacy, commitment to form and there is showmanship – we create a show and then we think ‘okay, how do we present it, how do we want them (clothes) to feel, how do we want the room to feel? What is the intention?’,” the legendary designer describes what went into the making of her contribution to the fashion week.
In attendance were the likes of Blue Mbombo, singer Bucie, Sipho Ndlovu and Rami Chuene. The fashion week extravaganza will have its last shows on the runway on Saturday, 22 April 2023.
