Cape Town - Fashion lovers and industry influencers will come together on Thursday at Sandton City’s Nelson Mandela Square for the start of the annual Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Joburg.
Africa’s renowned and emerging designers will show their Autumn/Winter collections over three days, an event that kick-starts Joburg’s fashion week season.
The event, which is organised and curated by African Fashion International, will be a hotbed for the latest winter trends and must-haves for women and men.
Top fashion stylists, bloggers, photographers and industry experts from across the continent will spend the week navigating their way between runway shows, schmoozing with their fellow guests, taking note of the showcased styles and striking a pose for the pictures.
From urban street fashion to chic ready-to-wear items and avant-garde designs, audiences can expect a good mix from established designers such as David Tlale, Mille Collines, Selfi, Marianne Fassler, Spero Villioti, Carducci and Leigh Schubert.
Young, fresh talent will include Tamara Chérie Dyson, Scalo/Tsotetsi KL, Tuelo Nguyuza, Khosi Nkosi, and Akedo.
“South Africa is bursting to the tip with creative and talented young designers who are passionate about making their mark on the wider global fashion scene,” says Sizwe Nzimande, group marketing manager at African Fashion International.
“Local fashion is fast-paced and exciting, and we have worked closely with the industry to plan a ground-breaking display against the backdrop of an electric and energised atmosphere, enchanting designers and audiences alike.
“The designers have worked tirelessly and sacrificed many a long night to prepare for this highly anticipated annual event.
“The designs that are expected to dominate the runway this year offer an outpouring of passion and a taste of the significant talent that is alive and thriving in Africa,” added Nzimande.
The designers behind four brands speak about their journeys in the world of fashion and their latest collections.
Mille Collines
Mille Collines is run by a designer duo from Barcelona, Spain: Marc Oliver and Ines Cuatrecasas.
The label’s story:
The Mille Collines journey originated in Barcelona in the heart of an impassioned young girl, Ines Cuatrecasas.
She yearned to explore new opportunities and engage in something creative and adventurous.
In the summer of 2005, Cuatrecasas and her mother travelled to Rwanda. While exploring the country, she met a dressmaker named Antoinette who would change the course of her life.
Meanwhile, her long-time friend Marc Oliver was back home in Spain creating his own imaginary world through shapes, proportions, pen and paper, and an insatiable desire to reimagine the world he saw before him.
In 2009, the duo travelled to Rwanda to develop their first collection with Antoinette.
A year later, Mille Collines was born. Today, Mille Collines blends the creativity, strength and culture of the African spirit with ever evolving global trends.
Describe your brand’s style?
Mille Collines is focused in creating timeless, globally revered fashion that expresses the true essence of Africa’s creativity, strength and culture.
What is the most difficult aspect of running your label?
That moment where there is a clash between creative processes and managing a company.
What do you think of initiatives such as Buy Local and Wear SA?
I think they are really powerful and relatable, absolutely necessary. The consumer has to understand that so much has evolved in terms of design and quality in the country, they need to break with old ideas of cheap quality, lack of design and modernity.
Tell us about your latest collection?
This collection is the first one we are launching on a South African platform since we moved here. We are very excited.
What is your motto?
Africa first.
Selfi
Where are you from?
I am originally from Malmesbury, raised as a single child since the age of eight. I studied fashion design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and worked for Malcolm Klûk before starting my own brand.
What is your favourite part about being a fashion designer?
I love being able to create a new story with each collection. It’s like writing a book, so much goes into each collection, including experiences you have with people, things you see and places you go to.
Who are some of your favourite designers?
I love Lukhanyo Mdigi, Rich Mnsi, 69 sixty-nine and Hood by Air.
How would you describe your brand’s style?
Approachable, playful, clean, bespoke and ready to wear
How has your work evolved and what are your future plans for your brand?
I have definitely learned a lot from my chosen market.
I started out experimenting with fold and shape and have now moved to print, which is easier to create pieces that stand out. My cut lines have simplified and have somehow matured.
I developed Selfi with no intention of connecting the cellphone-taken selfie to the brand.
I created the name Selfi as an inner expression of the self which continuously transforms, and each collection is meant to be a representation of that.
What more can be done to encourage support for local designers?
If consumers were to understand the cycle of how clothing is produced, in the form of documentation, from how and where the fabric is purchased to the people producing it right to the endconsumer, there would be a more powerful story to support.
They need to know the background of the people who produce the products and that buying local creates jobs and also reduces poverty, crime, drug abuse.
Words you live by?
I believe that everything in life isenergy.
What you put into the world affects everything – action, words, thoughts – which is why it’s important for me that my team and I put out products that can add value to people’s lives.
Spero Villioti
Tell us about yourself?
I trained at the College of Fashion in London. After I graduated I worked at the London-based fashion house, Frank Usher, as a full-time junior designer and then senior designer. I started Spero Villioti Couture in South Africa but continued as a senior designer for Frank Usher on a freelance basis, designing five international collections a year – spring, summer, autumn, winter and a cruise line. I have been running my own fashion business in South Africa for the past 25 years and am still loving every minute of it.
What is your favourite part about being a fashion designer?
I love being able to share my knowledge with the amazing, talented, young designers at my academy.
Who are some of your favourite designers?
There are so many beautiful designers out there, but if I had to choose, internationally, I would say Tom Ford and Elie Saab. And locally, I would choose a designer from our Spero Villioti Elite Design Academy family, Ryan Keys.
Describe your brand’s style?
My designs are elegant and sophisticated, never vulgar.
How has your work evolved and what are your future plans for your brand?
My future plans would be to grow the Spero Villioti brand as much as possible, as well as develop and grow the Spero Villioti Elite Design Academy as I feel there is a need for young designers to master international standard and skills.
What is the most difficult aspect of running your own label?
The process of making sure that the garment or product is of the finest quality. Attention to detail is always something that is important to me.
What more can be done to encourage people to support local designers?
More marketing needs to be done to launch the careers of new designers to create awareness of young talent and to help mentor and guide new fashion hopefuls, so that they can help improve the South African fashion industry. That’s why I think that AFI Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Joburg is such a wonderful platform to showcase what our country has to offer.
What’s your motto?
Pay utmost attention to detail.
Tuelo Nguyuza
Tell us about yourself?
I was born in Pretoria in a township called Ga-rankuwa. I studied fashion design at Tshwane University of Technology and currently reside in Muckleneuk in Pretoria.
What do you enjoy about what you do?
The ability to bring a design from sketch to life.
Describe your brand’s style?
My style evolves with time and influence.
Tell us a little about your brand?
The brand has evolved tremendously, our design aesthetic is more bold and daring. Future plans for the brand include possibly taking the brand into retail and creating our own textiles. In my short time in the industry I have learned that what is more difficult is the fact that you can’t only be the creative designer, you have to understand the business of fashion in general.
What do you think of initiatives such as ‘Buy Local’ and ‘Wear SA’?
The South African industry has really come a long way and has grown immensely. I believe that with the quality and standard of design in South Africa we are more than capable of producing and selling our designs locally.
I fully support the initiatives as they are helping the fashion industry grow.
Platforms such as Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Joburg, together with the African Fashion International (AFI) have already paved the way in the right direction – to support local designers. With that being said, we as designers also need to play our part and create more awareness around our brands.
What is your motto?
I believe in the old saying: “Hard work pays.”
l Tickets to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Joburg, from R100 to R250 per show, are available from www.webticket.co.za. Visit www.africanfashioninternational.com for the full designer schedule.
Nontando Mposo, Cape Argus
Pictures: SDR Photos