The White Shirt is a staple for any wardrobe. Recognizing
this essential and the many ways it can be worn - new fashion label, SiSi, has
just launched an all-white shirt capsule collection. The brainchild of
designer, Cynthia Allie and style maverick, Yasmin Furmie, SiSi may be the new
kid on the block but it’s all about the timeless classics. We caught up with
the pair.
How did SiSi come about?
Yasmin Furmie:
We thought about it a long time ago and said
we must do something together because Cynthia and I have known each other for a
long time. She’s a designer and we said we have to do something.
Cynthia Allie:
We were going to do it last year, towards
December and then it was too late. Then we thought: ‘let’s do it this year.’
And it was almost too late again.
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Where did the SiSi name come from?
CA:
I have no idea where it started but SiSi is what we call
each other. It’s no longer Yas or Cynthia, it became ‘sisi this’ and ‘sisi
that.’
YF:
Every morning we send each other messages and it would
be: ‘Top of the morning to you, Sisi.’
CA:
We’ve been friends a very long time - before the kids
were born.
YF:
So Sisi is a very good reflection of who we are as
sister-friends.
Why did you decide to debut the brand with The White Shirt?
YF:
Well, I can tell you about her. She is the epitome of
the white shirt wearing woman. I wear white shirts but I mix them up with a
whole lot of things. Cynthia is literally known for her white shirts. You know
when you look around and you think everyone does everything else and they
include a white shirt in their collections. So we thought: this would be what
our signature is.
CA:
I probably wear a white shirt every single day of my
life. She also has a whole lot of beautiful white shirts. So we thought: we
have this in common - besides the fashion bit - so let’s do this together.
Whenever we have white shirts on, people will say where do you get your shirts
from? That’s what women want: deconstructed white shirts. Not just completely
tailored.
The shirts you designed vary in styles that cater to the
young and older woman.
CA:
Yes! Because we both have young daughters, we had to
accommodate them, people our age and people in between.
YF:
Both Cynthia and I like fairly loose shapes and that
loose shape can work well on somebody very young and someone much older as
well. We wanted to keep everything much funkier than just that classic style.
Sometimes white shirts can be very boring so we though we’d do something that
stands out a bit.
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What’s next for SiSi?
YF:
I think we will stick with white shirts in their various
forms and guises. As seasons go, we may change shapes and styles because
there’s so much to do. What we want to do that’s different is keep with neutral
colours - especially white. Maybe we’ll bring in a small collection of black or
charcoal or taupe but no prints. It’s going to be a very clean slate.
CA:
We have found there is a demand for men’s shirts so we
might look at that as well.
In addition to premiering this label, SiSi tasked attendees
of their launch with bringing sanitary towels as a part of a drive for the
Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation. The foundation's project manager, Natasha
Allie said: "Mbizana [in the Eastern
Cape] is where Oliver Tambo was born. This drive is a
way to help the community. SiSi is an initiative by women for women and this is
an opportunity to help other young women in need."