I stumbled upon these sunglasses recently. I'm all for natural shapes for men so it surprised me how much I loved these once I tried them on. Apart from my matte black wayfarers from Sunglass Hut I don't really wear black. If you're not careful in choosing the right size for your face you can look as if you're pulling inspiration from the Terminator. Proportion is key. Ask a sales assistant from Sunglass Hut about styles for your face shape until you find the perfect pair.
As for me, these D&G sunnies (DG8076) which only go for R1750 will in all likelihood find their way into my shirt pocket before long.
Tim and Fiona Slack aim to take classic styles to the future. They have worked hard at putting love into their shoes and their marriage since the 1970s , back then they were called Walker shoes but today they trade under the name T&F Slack. Bringing forward the Gibson and 5 eye-lit Derby shoe shapes into 2011 and beyond, but adding bursts of colour in odd but pleasing combinations.
I love the look of a perforated shoe. These come with an underlying colour of your choosing, but how, I hear you ask? In addition to their own available styles you also get the opportunity to play designer with their easy-to-use system available in Liberty, Selfridges and their Notting Hill store in London. IMAGES FROM COOLHUNTER
The first time I met Cindy Poole of The Summit was a year ago. I was encouraged to visit her stall by Robyn Cooke who said this girl was incredible. The only difference between then and now is Poole dons a shorter 'do. The enthusiasm and energy is still very much the same, gasping and giving me another item to hold before she's finished telling me about the one before. There are few designers I have encountered with half the excitement. It's inspiring.
Now being proud and raving about your product is one thing but having it backed up with superior quality and design is another. Cindy's gentleman is a throwback to an old age, he carries a newspaper around, smokes cigars. But he is also modern with a certain sense of whimsy.
I was particularly a fan of the leather and sterling silver collar clips she added to her collection, these are great because you can also add them to your jacket lapel at different angles. This "Ridgeback to back link" sells for R620 and is part of the first range of jewelry for the Summit.
She joined Adriaan Kuiters (available at Spence) at this years Design Indaba with her range of leather goods. I thoroughly enjoyed these two together, what a great match.
Stiaan Louw's show, although highly anticipated, came out of nowhere and knocked me over. I have heard about this collection for a long time. I've discussed many of it's details in depth with the designer. But I didn't prepare myself to be so bowled over by a collection such as this. There will be readers who will frown at this statement but they must understand the difference between wearable fashion and art. I watched one particular show that had seemingly no original thought in it's design or execution. In fact it was wrongly arrogant without any backing.
We arrived at the Johannesburg Art Gallery and were soon after ushered to our seats. Word of the event being over capacity made sure we stayed put. Within the hour we saw this as a blessing because even the front row had to make space for extra's. At the following show we found out a certain famous local actress was content to sit at the feet of a magazine stylist. Some poured over stairs and corners and many were turned away altogether asked to watch from monitors outside.
What I deeply appreciated about this show was the lack of two things: Stiaan's name anywhere and the presence of theatrics. His models walked without emotion. They were cold and detached. It was like witnessing these men in some parallel universe walking around their tribes, mud caked on their feet and forearms. I allowed my imagination to wander. I tried to picture where Stiaan was sending these men off to. The Roman influence of some of the garments told me they were off to war. There were dots of Greek influence and of Samurai. In fact so many countries were included but never in an obvious way. You almost have to look the pieces individually to see this.
This collection also includes a surprising addition. Colour! All natural tones but then added with antique jewelry by Ida Elsje and neon accessories from Missibaba that enhanced the darker tones beautifully. The sandals are an updated version of the kind I wore as a 90's kid. A play on a Grecian or Roman sandal perhaps but completely wearable for any modern man.
In fact this collection sees mostly wearable styles, and dare I say he included commercial pieces like the stitched T-shirts and a drop-crotch ensemble which looks like it belongs to a casual New Yorker. Yes, he darkened a few models skin, yes he lightened others. It didn't even matter when images were projected onto the walls with a white model painted black. His clothing speaks for itself and the model is merely a canvas. There is no hidden meaning. These models are the children of a wold that Stiaan has created, and believes in. A white man in african attire? Gasp. The world has moved on and this collection celebrates that evolution.
UPDATE:
I found this video of the above-mentioned show on youtube courtesy of teeteeiswithme for your viewing pleasure!
Pictures property of Simon Deiner / SDR and Manofthecloth.
The night that I had been waiting for all along had arrived. We climbed into the van on Friday and drove off into the city to get to the Bus Factory. We were told we would see three shows at this venue and the last two, Stiaan Louw and Thula Sindi at the Johannesburg Art Gallery. Excited but sad that I would be taking an early morning flight back to Cape Town I tweeted like a trooper and took as many photos as my abused camera would allow. As I mentioned, while there weren't masses of fashion forward boys I did spot one or two at a time that I had to photograph, naturally by the time I got to said boys they were gone.
While no venue was bad at fashion week it was the Jhb Art Gallery that facilitated mingling the best. We were all in an open courtyard and this somehow made people a lot more relaxed. It could have been the open bar but who knows.
Let it just be known that AFI did a spectacular job at orchestrating all of these shows. Even if there was a doozy with David Tlale's fashionably late show the whole Johannesburg fashion week was a great success. I absolutely cannot wait for next year.
Rach of the blog Visual Basic drew these fabulous sketches as an edition of her 'Blogger Sketch Sunday' series. Thank you so much Rach, your work is truly inspiring...
You have had a long, tough day and just as you're about to go home and relax you remember you have that 'thing' to go to. Follow these quick tips to a pain and stress free solution.
Day two offered four shows for us to see at two separate venues. We were back at the Bus Factory for Lisp and Wildfig, the former had her models dancing and flicking their hair on the landing above the runway. Unusual but still entertaining!
Even more so was Spero Villiotti who showered us with gold in the most literal way. To be honest it was rather distracting for the first few looks but the images would come out beautifully. Even Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, who was directly across from us, sat covered in gold but she didn't seem to mind. It was my dear friend Luisa from O magazine that got the most of the experience.
Directly after the show we jumped into the van and drove off to the Johannesburg Art Gallery. Before going downstairs to the show we stood out in the beautiful lit courtyard. This is where I got to meet a lot of great and interesting people. Tamara Dey showed up soon after and serenaded us. Her dress was from the new Abigail Betz collection, of course. I noticed that a lot of the girls dressed up and their partners didn't. That said it didn't stop many of the men at the shows going all out. It was so busy and crowded at both venues which made it hard to get all the photo's I wanted.
The last show of the night was Abigail Betz. It makes sense to expect beautiful garments on the runway but I wasn't expecting such a wonderful, wonderful collection. From the location, the music, the flawless finishes of the 50's cuts of the dresses and the theatrical poses which had the designer herself end the show. Back at the hotel it was all we could talk about. Should we be surprised though? I loved seeing the standard raised before my eyes. I can't wait to see Stiaan Louw tonight. I will bring you more images of the rest of the nights shows very soon. But you can keep up to date with Joburg fashion week by following me on TWITTER.
Pictures property of Manofthecloth and Gary Stemmett / SDR Photo!
Dress: Missoni. Blazer: Zara. Shoes: Jil Sander. Scarf: Jcrew. Clutch: American Apparel. Jewelry: David Yurman, Michael Kors, Pomellato. Lips: Make Up Forever Professionals #41. Nails: OPI for Sephora Caliente Coral.
Suzanne Heyns opened up AFI fashion week officially last night at the Bus Factory in Johannesburg. Media, personalities and fashion voyeurs alike swarmed into the venue with a lot of excitement. I had yet to experience a fashion event in Johannesburg so it was a welcome surprise to see how it is done. Would they be more fashionable? Make less effort? Would they all wear black? Well for the most part they did wear all black. But the looks were certainly different to Cape Town. It was edgier in a lot of ways and there was no shortage of Christian Louboutin shoes, I promise.
Once the mass had arrived at their seats an artistic yet creepy stop motion video was played on the various screens. Two Gaga-like drones with an ethereal presence wore flowing blue material while working a seemingly dead model to a Heyns rebirthing. It set the tone when the big eyed model walked on and the crowd applauded. The futuristic influence was obvious but instead of tight fitting garments Heyns opted for flow, layers and draping in neutral tones. The designs were out there and constructed differently to the norm and I would love to take a closer look. Seeing them on a runway is different to a frozen image because you are seeing it move. What are your thoughts?
