Joburg Fashion Week

Tag : cotton tulle

There is always excitement in the air whenever a new fashion weekkicks off. There is uncertainty about the success of thecollections. There is avid interest in who will turn up and beseated in the front row. There is even a certain keenness to meetup with the other frequenters of such events. But for the designersthemselves, there is total and utter fear  or so I was told bythose I chatted to after the shows last night.
Joburg Fashion Week Spring Summer 2008 began in the surrealsurroundings of Montecasino in the northern suburbs of Johannesburglast night. It was a night of gasps of pleasure, interspersed witha few frowns of confusion. There were some dazzling highlights thatexcited even some of the tired old hacks to praise. And, yes, therewas a little disappointment when an exciting designer didn't liveup to some the hype that had preceded them. But most of all, dayone of this fashion week was celebration of femininity.
'Plethora of girlie dresses& '
I have no doubt that the ladies of South Africa will be in equalparts relieved and thrilled with the plethora of girlie dresses,skirts and blouses that we will be wearing this season.
It is a time to really enjoy being a woman and revel in thegorgeous florals, ruffles and bows that were on display in theeight designer collections that we saw last night.
With a base of black and white, colours either followed a nauticaltheme of blue, red and white, or a pretty muted palette of softpinks, blues, turquoise and orange.
As mentioned, the big pattern story was around the floral prints,but there were also plenty of checks and stripes, swirls andsequins.
'Natural fabric for real women'
Much of the excitement of the day was in the use of fabrics. Therewas a great deal of silk in most of the collections, which is agreat natural fabric for real women.
There was also much use of cotton jersey that is both comfortableand flattering. Swathes of taffeta were used for melodrama and thesilk chiffon and georgette were used to really emphasise thefemininity at the heart of the collections, with some kind ofromance never far from the storyline.
The silhouettes were unsurprising with much volume in the skirts(great for disguising our womanly hips), strong shoulders and bothmini and maxi dresses on show.
The rah-rah skirt is strong on the comeback trail, and the lanternskirt was a popular choice. I have got to say that neither of thelatter are for us real ladies, but the youth among us can enjoythem while they last.
Hanging about a little past their sell-by dates are the high waistsand dresses with layers of ruffles, but this too shall pass, whilebang on trend was many a playsuit, kaftan and nipped-in jacket.
'An opportunity to claim your own voice'
Individuality was inherent in the detail of the collections, fromthe quirky embroidery patches on the Pink Art frocks to the tartantrim on the tulle underskirt at Heni, there is a real opportunityto claim your own voice should you wish to buy these designerpieces. And while there was a clear global reference point throughall the shows, the basics of the South African aesthetic waspresent.
Not all of the collections were ready for the fashion hungryconsumer to snap up. But there was a level of experimentation andexploration in some of the shows that certainly inspire us to lookforward to what they bring next time.
Those that really stood out as modern classics include thewonderful Pucci-eque French Riviera stylings of Frans Kies, thegreat drama of the Heni collection, and the joyful fusion of artand fashion from Cape Town locals Pink Art. And that was just onday one.
For more information on Robyn and for photos from Joburg FashionWeek, go to: http://styleguidecapetown.blogspot.com