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?

PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN BY SIMON DEINER