Fashion stakes high at the
J&B MET Go over the top this year, designers advise as the ‘Made Different’ theme challenges fashionistas to break all the rules, writes NATASHA PRINCE
THIS year’s J&B Met is for the fashionably brave. Not that the fashionistas need any encouragement to push the envelope if past Mets are anything to go by. This year just gives them licence to be more over the top at one of the Cape’s most OTT events.
The 35th J&B Met will be held at Kenilworth Racecourse next Saturday and the “Made Different” theme is calling racegoers to defy all the rules that govern conventional fashion sense.
The prestigious horse racing event draws thousands of the country’s elite and locals to the premier social event where sport and fashion meet.
The race showcases 16 of SA’S top horses as they compete for the R2.5 million stake over 2 000m.
But for fashion designers, it’s about competing for a different stake.
Each year, they wait in anticipation for the event’s theme to be announced so that they can get started on designs. This year many said they had to “think outside of the box”.
J&B brand manager Richard Brodrick said the theme was open to interpretation and that it was up to individuals to make it unique.
He explained that a connection could be made between the theme and the whisky’s “history of challenging convention” – with its bold bright yellow label and green bottle and its blend of 42 whiskies, which Brodrick said is unique to the brand.
It was also born out of a marketing campaign that the brand has been running for a few months.
“That’s why the theme was a no-brainer really,” Brodrick said.
“We wanted to launch a campaign that was all about the unique heritage…how the brand challenged convention.” He said he hoped the theme would inspire people to “break and challenge the rules” of fashion.
“If you usually wear suits and a bow tie, then arrive in a shorts or a T-shirt – the theme can be taken in any direction,” he said.
“We want people to have fun with it, and be open to new things.”
Meanwhile, boutiques and designers who usually showcase their work on race day have been pulling out all the creative stops, with window displays promoting extraordinary touches to ensembles.
In the spirit of the Met, radio and TV presenters have been challenged to piece together outfits from stalls in Cavendish Square suitable for this year’s theme.
Habits clothing boutique in Claremont has an eye-catching window display framed by J&B logos. In the centre is a mannequin dressed in a bubble wrap skirt, a newspaper bustier and a hat made of recycled plastic.
Jenny le Roux, owner and designer, said: “I think it could be worn – I just wish someone with a bit of nerve would come along to buy it and wear it.
“I think many people will be going back to the classics and the basics, and dressing it up by wearing something mad on your head – and using what you have, like recycled items and bubble wrap, or newspaper – a bit of classic with a touch of the insane,” she added.
Le Roux’s fashion tip for the Met was: “Always have a spare pair of shoes in your handbag because it is a very, very long day and often your feet get dirty because your heels pierce into the ground. So extra shoes are handy and, unless you’re in a grand fancy tent, wear a hat that can shade you from the sun, because it can get very hot,” she said.
Mark Gooding from Carducci said interesting accessories would be the order of the day for men’s fashion this year.
“People will probably come up with unusual things, like a bow tie made out of newspaper for instance.”
He said the theme, despite being commercially driven for the brand, promoted creativity.
“I think this year people actually had to wake up and have realised that they must do something, or make something ahead of time,” he said.
Liz Jones, who manages the Monsoon boutique in Cavendish, said the theme was very broad.
“It’s not very specific, so you really can do anything you want with it… I think you really have to think outside of the box,” she said.