I spent just a few days in Jozi last week for MBFWJ – our very own fashion week. It’s always great to celebrate South African fashion and creatives alike. Fashion in South Africa has certainly come a long way with designers construction and design really leveling up with international designers. I decided to round up a few of my highlights of the week after the jump!
Opening night was all about our local celebrities, with songstress Nandi Mngoma’s debut collection “Colour” being showcased and AFI’s fast track young designers, Tayla Nguskos, Chesney Williams and Buda Malete collaborating with celebrities Minnie Dlamini, DJ Zinhle and Dj Tira.
I was pleased to see Nandi’s work live in action as she had gotten so much attention for her look on the red carpet at the annual BET awards this year. As a designer she has a flair for the unordinary, interesting garment and lots of color too! Fasttrack is always my favorite show because the future stars of design come out to show their work – its exciting to see those stars rise late on in life! The most notable collection for me was Buda’s collab with DJ Tira.
I skipped Day 2 to finish off some admin, but was back in full force for day 3 for The Threaded Man Experience, having my hair done by GHD after a quick makeup application by me.
It was really exciting to see Laduma Ngoxolo’s collection MaXhosa live for the first time on day 3. I have been a fan of his work for some time but I had never been to now of his shows. After great success and international acclaim, showing in Italy at Pita Uomo, Laduma’s IsiXhosa inspired printed collection continues to make waves. It was such an earmarked show that people were literally sitting on the floor and walkways to watch his show walk down the runway. Definitely a highlight for me at this fashion week – since he takes design so seriously.
I have been trained to spot designers faults by my incredibly talented grandmother, so I am often underwhelmed when designers send unfinished garments down the runway with unintentional dripping seams, exposed zips and poorly constructed garments. I think its important for all young designers to send a full body of well constructed work down the runway. It really excites me when talent like Laduma, sends down a well crafted collection, with a masters in Material Futures from the prestigious ST Martins We would not expect anything less from him.
About My Looks
Day 1 : HM Studio A/W launching September 8th In stores
Day 3: W35T label available at Convoy Shop Melville
Xo Aisha
Street Photography: Layla Shaik
Runway Photography : SDR Photo via Afi (here)
