Liam Joyce attended the MTV Africa Music Awards in Joburg last weekend and was underwhelmed by the fashion.
We have been calling for our celebrities to start dressing up like stars on the red carpet for a while now, but it seems few of them are listening. Who knows whether the problem lies with the designers, the stars or the stylists, but it is becoming an issue.
Dressing for the red carpet is one of the few occasions when celebrities can actually make a style statement, but they don’t get it.
I think it’s time we stop celebrating fashion mediocrity at big awards shows. Walking out on to the red carpet in a poorly-fitting outfit is not smart. Neither is trying to wear every single trend together in one look – we’re looking at you, Boity, Moozlie, Thando Thabethe and Lerato Kganyago. And the less said about Babes Wodumo, the better.
Considering this was Africa’s biggest music awards ceremony, it was disappointing that the co-hosts didn’t wear African designers on the red carpet. This was such a fine moment to showcase our local designers’ talent.
There’s this issue that, when celebrities have made it, they stop wearing local designers and start wearing clothes from Western brands. It’s such a pity because so many of these brands are inspired by our continent.
These stars’ outfits made an impression on me, some for good reasons and others not so good.
Bonang Matheba
Bonang had her American stylist Harrison Crite flown to South Africa to style her and, honestly, we were disappointed. She looked great – as she always does – but she also missed the perfect opportunity to wear African designers.
The likes of Mozambique’s Taibo Bacar, Nigeria’s Toju Foyeh and, of course, her favourite Gert Johan Coetzee, would have done anything to dress her.
While it’s great that she can wear big brands like Marchesa, which speaks to her star power, this was a moment for her to wear an African designer.
Nomzamo Mbatha
Nomzamo is a beautiful woman and I liked the Mac Duggal dress she wore on the red carpet. In fact, a lot of celebrities opted to sparkle. I am unapologetically African and I love others who are, but sometimes it’s okay to change it up a bit and Nomzamo missed the opportunity to show a different side to her fashion sense. All the African print was a little too much. But when she stopped trying to fit the Nubian Princess aesthetic, she looked great, like when she wore her Babes Wodumo-inspired outfit. It was a winner.
Khanyi Mbau
Good gracious! Maybe on the invitation in future, under dress code, they should just have a picture of Khanyi and say, “Don’t dress like this”. Mbau showed up looking like a flamingo. Her derrière was exposed through the perspex material. I know that perspex is a big trend right now, but not for every occasion. That fur? That hair? Everything was a mess.
Cassper Nyovest
Cassper is looking all kinds of hot right now. The rapper went from chubby to sexy thanks to a personal trainer and an intense workout. I loved his suit: the fit was perfect, black is always flattering, there was not too much going on with the print, and his ponytail was MIA. Cassper, Sizwe ?Dhlomo, Ehiz and Sauti Sol showed up and delivered on the red carpet. Gents, this is how you rock the Mamas.
Jessica Nkosi
Jessica dazzled on the red carpet in a stunning dress by local designer Cinnel. We have not seen Jessica looking so regal and effortless before. She was definitely one of the best-dressed celebrities of the night. The black and silver dress with an open back showed just enough skin. Her hair was styled to perfection and even the shoes were perfect. It was Old Hollywood Glamour done right.
Weza Solange
The Angolan superstar and Generations: The Legacy newbie was another favourite of mine. Not because we struck up a conversation in Portuguese, but because her gown complimented everything about her. She was dressed by local fashion house House of Jade in a white and lavender dress with an open back that looked great against her skin.
The next major red carpet event is the Metro FM Music Awards early next year.
Let’s hope by then our stars will have realised how important it is to get it right out there.