Johannesburg - on Thursday night the South African Fashion Week held at The Park in Hyde Park Corner, Hyde Park there were obvious hits and much more obvious misses.
The chilly night began with the simple and striking designs of Isabel De Villiers, one of the designers in the first show.
Models made their way around the curving runway dressed in grey and yellow. The collection featured a number of lose boxy silhouettes which were layered on top of other items in a different colour.
The designer showed asymmetrical hemline dresses and a key feature in most of the items was the small half moon cut-out detailing. Though without accessories to go with the minimalistic look the models walked with rectangular plastic nets over their eyes. The show was a hit with audiences.
De Villiers' show was followed by Judith Atelier, Non-European and Sober. Most of the rest of the looks became anti-climatic, especially Non-European who showed a collection of mainly shorts and blouses that did not show any visible innovation.
The next high and low of the evening came during the same show. This was during the second show where Sun Goddess dropped jaws and JJ Schoeman disappointed.
The Sun Goddess collection was one of the most well rounded of the entire fashion week with the models not only showing colourful designs but also belts, bags, sunglasses, hats and neckpieces.
The models walked the ramp wearing maxi dresses and gowns with isiXhosa inspired detailing, clashing patterns, mixed textures and plunging necklines.
This contrasted sharply with the plain white stripped down collection that followed it by popular designer, JJ Schoeman. With one of his ambassadors, Miss SA Nthandoyenkosi Kunene on the catwalk, Schoeman showed a collection of white dresses in popular silhouettes like the shift dress.
Though the ambiance was beautiful because of the tiny lights that were cast on the wall from a disco ball the clothes didn't match up to the atmosphere and the audience was restless through most of the experience.
The last show, features six designers but the last one to show on the evening was the one who stood out the most. Following BY Ds, African Style Story and Urban Zulu was Kenyan-born, South African based designer, Liz Ogumbo.
Her collection showed vibrant safari styled outfits and at the climatic end the charismatic designer walked the ramp better than the models to the applause of the audience.
Lerato Mbangeni, The Star