Ahead of the State of The Nation Address (SONA) that got people hot under their collars, the red carpet was ready to receive looks.
For politicians and plus ones who did not have to worry about delivering the address, the only stress they had was their outfits and navigating the Cape Town traffic congestion.
SONA may have stopped traffic, literally and metaphorically. But, as usual, not much was served in the locally-inspired looks department – even after Proudly SA joined forces with some of Mzansi’s top fashion designers to promote the significance of supporting and representing the local Retail – Clothing, Textile, Footwear, and Leather (R-CTFL) sector through #Sona2024.
Very few local designers’ merchandise was seen.
Read More | SONA | ‘It’s going to be an election campaign speech’ – Political analysts
While Angie Motshekga and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma were quoted as saying that they just chose an old dress from their closets, which was evident, the likes of Stella Ndabeni Abrahams made a better effort.
One could argue that SONA is not about fashion or even testing government leaders’ fashion sense – because we have bigger problems – but even those problems remain unresolved. So, what’s a few thousands for one outfit from B Mashilo, Imprint or Thula Sindi?
What's commendable though is that there was a common traditional feel to most of the outfits, African attire was represented.
Here are the top looks from the SONA red carpet.
Read More | 7 looks that totally rocked the SONA red carpet
