Is Norma the next Coco?
● With alumni including fashion disruptor Roman Handt, cool design kid Rich Mnisi and recent LVMH Prize recipient Thebe Magugu, there is little doubt that Joburg fashion school LISOF has a reputation for nurturing fashion stars.
That’s why fashionistas on the lookout for the next big fashion thing flock to the end-of-year show staged by the school founded by Shana Rosenthal.
Students across all three years of learning showcased their work for parents, friends, and fashion luminaries at the event last Saturday at Joburg inner city venue 1 Fox Junction.
Passing food trucks offering an array of street-food, I bump into one of the school’s newest students, Norma Gigaba, the fashionable wife of disgraced former minister Malusi Gigaba.
“I’m excited and a little nervous,” admitted the brunette. “I’ve attended so many fashion shows, but to see your own work on the ramp is like a dream come true, even though this is only my first step.”
Norma’s design, part of a collection called Utopia to which all first-years contributed one garment, shows promise but we will have to see how she develops her craft.
As for the school’s graduating third-year students, my favs were the utility aesthetics of Danielle Bagoos and Sabeeha Wajar, the spunky designs of Charity Baloyi and the sustainability story behind Monaisha Le Fleur’s Tides of Trash collection.
The highlight, though, was the bodypositive collection titled Ab-Fab Resort by second-year students, which featured figure-hugging swimwear worn by a tribe of curvy models.