Johannesburg - As fashionistas gathered at the Rosebank Crowne Plaza Hotel for SA Fashion Week spring/summer 2014 collections, there was a strange sense of déjà vu; the same front-row crowd had rubbed shoulders just two weeks previously at the Sandton Convention Centre, where Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Joburg presented winter collections for 2014.
Could the wheels of fashion be turning too fast for Joburg’s fashion set?
The fact that the tent erected adjacent to the hotel was packed every night seemed to suggest that fashion addicts can never get enough.
It’s also the rituals attached to these three-day extravaganzas that keep them afloat; Joburgers love nothing more than donning their best and parading their stylish outfits in a room full of people who claim to know what’s in and out.
Between a burgeoning circle of street-style bloggers on the hunt for suitable subjects and a branded photo backdrop at the hotel entrance, photo-ops were not in short supply. Nor were long queues to get into shows.
The line outside the installation tent before Black Coffee’s showing was proof of Jacques van der Watt’s reputation, which fortunately emerged safely intact, if not bolstered, after a showing of a small collection of garments on mannequins and live models wearing hats that looked like elaborate light fittings.
The avant garde headgear was presumably meant to highlight the futuristic vibe that the garments exuded, though the checked shift dresses brought to mind a 1960s rendition of futurism.
The quality of the design made up for the lack of quantity of couture numbers; striking dresses in bold shades of blue and orange strips woven together like macrame were standouts, as was a Piet Mondrian-inspired shift dress.
These intricate garments were the highlight, but they are not going to be everyday wear for the upcoming season, unless you happen to exist in an uber fashion-oriented universe.
Amanda Laird Cherry, Lunar, Terence Bray and Sies Isabelle! offered ready-to-wear collections that brought to mind easy summer dressing for hot days.
Laird Cherry’s collection evoked tropical climes with prints boasting palm trees that were teamed with loose-fitting separates in white fabrics.
The collection included full skirts given body with net petticoats à la 1950s vintage rockabilly styling, which seemed to contradict that laid-back tropical beach vibe.
Lunar also sent mixed messages down the ramp with a collection of garments parading pared-down design, exploiting the natural qualities of fabrics with raw hems and natural tones driving this point home, as well as floor-length empire line 1970s-style hippie dresses with crochet insets.
Terence Bray embraced a natural palette with beige, brown and sand tones and a monochrome print depicting long grass affirmed the collection’s connection to nature.
With colour-blocked panels and transparent insets, the collection was modern rather than a retro mish-mash. - Sunday Independent