Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Our favourites from SA Fashion Week Autumn/Winter collection
ONE of the parking lots at the Mall of Africa was closed and turned into an auditorium for South African Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2024 (AW24) collections last weekend.
More than 30 designers showcased their collections to the who’s who of the South African fashion industry, the media and the public.
Established and emerging designers proved that the South African fashion industry is in capable hands.
Some designers whose collections stood out the most on day two were Mantsho, Black Coffee, Viviers Studio and Franc Elis.
Mantsho
Owned by Palesa Mokubung, Mantsho is a womenswear brand that prides itself on authentic stylish garments for an elegant woman.
Mokubung said this collection opened her eyes to the importance of being conscious as a fashion designer. The fashion industry contributes large amounts of environmental waste.
“I was inspired by my trip to Portugal and all the factories, manufacturers and textile looms I went to. Fashion is such a serious business and one that can cause so much harm and waste to the planet.
“When I came back, I revisited the collection I thought I would showcase, and I approached it with a consciousness of making it less harmful.
“I spent a whole day at a factory that recycles scraps. I’ve never seen anything like that. It’s probably as big as this mall. They’re processing waste fabric to make yarn and blew my mind.
“I took time to read about the ingredients in the fabrics I was using and I wasn’t okay with some of them,” said Mokubung.
And so, her AW24 collection was named: “The Conscious Collection”.
Black Coffee
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This season, Jacques van der Watt, the founder of Black Coffee, played with some colours in his collection, “Reform”.
“In this collection, I worked a lot with upcycling, so I also like the cycle of a garment, the past, the garment and the future.
“For the colours, sponsored by Isuzu this season, I wanted to put
something that felt more urban.
“I started with one colour and thought: ‘Let’s go a bit further’, and I ended with an array of colours supported by a lot of black and cream to balance the collection,” he said.
Viviers Studio
Lezanne Viviers, the founder of the brand, wanted her show to be a memorable one so she opened it by burning impepho (incense) to make way for her “ReTrace, Re-Memory, Re-Set, Re-Culture” collection, which made its debut at Milan Fashion Week last month.
“ReTrace, Re-Memory, Re-Set, Re-Culture represents key Vivier’s signature shapes and sculpted silhouette, this season re-imagined into the
past-future.
“The trapeze shapes and silhouettes combined with our signature sculpted arch shapes could be considered otherworldly or extraterrestrial in nature,” she said.
“The overall silhouette is powerful, rather more androgynous. The collection represents the extreme masculine and the extreme feminine combined, commenting on the duality found within all of us.
“We visualise more inclusive shapes that are accommodating for most body types, disregarding gender.”
Franc Elis
Fabrice Moyo, the creative director of the brand, showcased our favourite menswear range. Inspired by the
military force, the collection, named “Sankara West”, was a combination of edgy, unique, and masculine.
“My main goal is to redefine military wear, so you see the pocket detailing and the silhouettes.
“This one was more pronounced because I had to combine the French military look in the 20s to give it a streetwear feel for an ordinary man.
“I used a lot of cotton because I’m concerned about pollution and sustainability,” said Moyo.
“This is an African-inspired look, where the slit is on the side and not at the back like Western clothing. It enhances masculinity and gives the man flexibility,” Moyo said.