SOUTH AFRICA FASHION WEEK – DAY 2 – Spring/Summer 2021

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Day 2 at South Africa Fashion Week saw Delicious Boldness as well as Luxurious Restraint. And a Menswear Range that is truly Out Of Africa.

 

All Image Credit South Africa Fashion Week (Official Website and Instagram)

 

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Amanda Laird Cherry’s angelic pure white cotton dress with its intricate draping

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Lukhanyo Mdingi’s menswear range is out of this world

Day 2 at South Africa Fashion Week staged at the impressive Mall of Africa took my breath away. The collections on show were beautiful and well-packaged, each with their own design ethos and style, but with a subtle thread of ‘African-ness’ running through each.

Every season the global world of fashion’s established names – Yves St Laurent, Prada, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana and their counterparts take inspiration from the sheer joy that is African fashion. This year will be no different, and believe me, the brands on offer at this South Africa S/S 2021 Fashion Week will influence and galvanize international trends no end.

In a year that saw global lockdowns instated – with many global fashion weeks watered down as a result, and designers scratching the surface for inspiration … to experience innovation and creativity of this caliber certainly fills one with hope for the future of fashion.

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Amanda Laird Cherry’s angels

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Pre-show essentials

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A Rubicon model gets the final pre-catwalk touches

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A collage of all things fashionable

Prepping!

The hair stylist creating their magic

All the elements that make fashion weeks happen

Amanda Laird Cherry’s cotton and lace ensemble

Lukhanyo Mdingi has an uncanny ability to create magic with the use of colour, textiles, texture, shape and form like few other designers I’ve encountered. If I have to single out one collection that stands out above the many other exceptional collections, it would have to be this one. No wonder style bible Vogue Italia has featured Lukhanyo Mdingi’s work, and so has The British Fashion Council: International Fashion Showcase, Pitto Uomo Immagine – Generation Africa, and the CFDA: New York Fashion Week – Men’s. In this collection the use of beautiful ochres, juxtaposed with burnt red and flashes of green and purple is so of the moment, so African-inspired and yet so international. Equally – tailoring, knitwear and accessories have been carefully integrated to create an end product that is nothing but awe-inspiring.

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Womenswear and menswear knits at Lukhanyo Mdingi

The colour palette of ochre and red is most inspired at Lukhanyo Mdingi

Knits and tailoring – a match made in heaven at Lukhanyo Mdingi

His and hers knits at Lukhanyo Mdingi

A collage of textures at Lukhanyo Mdingi

 

High-end womenswear label Judith Atelier finds their inspiration in South Africa’s culture of story-telling, everyday people, photography, nature, landscapes and textures. The pieces in this stunning resortwear collection looked beautiful on the catwalk – swishy, elegant and utterly covetable.

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Stripes and knits at Judith Atelier

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A jacquard knitted top with side slit at Judith Atelier

Stripes in cotton and in knitwear at Judith Atelier

Stripy resortwear at Judith Atelier

 

Mantsho’s signature prints and unique textiles are a hallmark of this brand’s confident African aesthetic. The use of bold earthy tones is a key characteristic of this brand and their recent collaboration with H&M – the first ever African designer asked to do so – is testimony of the incredible talent of designer Palesa Mokubung. This is fashion fit for an urban African queen!

Matsho’s bold collection – with accents of frills, sleeves and colour blocking

Artisanal pleating at Matsho

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Bold burnt orange and russet red at Mantsho

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A touch of African queen here at Mantsho

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Regal dresses for every African queen! At Mantsho

 

Mmusomaxwell is yet another South African brand that has received huge international acclaim. Design duo Maxwell Boko and Mmuso Potsane focus on a design process that celebrates the modern woman and the wonderful wearability and elegance of their garments are testament to that.

Intricate detail in the pleating and embroidery at Mmusomaxwell

Gathers, pleats and beautiful tailoring at Mmusomaxwell

 

The Bam Collective has received many accolades to date, not least their famous capsule collaboration with South African high street giant, Mr Price. Their S/S 2021 is a bold and joyous offering, the craftsmanship inspired, the colours nothing short of delightful. The fabulously opulent yellow dress below was undoubtedly one of the standout pieces of Day 2 at South Africa Fashion Week.

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This is perfection in a dress at The Bam Collective

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Bold colours, pointy hems and insets at The Bam Collective

Beautiful tailoring in this bright yellow suit and royal blue fringed coat at The Bam Collective

Vibrant colours toned down with pink shoes at The Bam Collective

Monochromatic ensembles at The Bam Collective

 

Sober celebrates the female form with pieces that are unashamedly feminine and dreamy. The collection is floaty and soft, but with accents and sharp tailoring here and there – a nipped waist, an accentuated shoulder, a peplum frill … in many ways reminiscent of the Twenties and Thirties. Endearingly lovely colour combinations complete a collection that is very together indeed.

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Dresses reminiscent of the Twenties and Thirties at Sober

Feminine and romantic pieces at Sober

Perfect for a tea party in a rose garden, don’t you think? At Sober

 

A seasoned designer and South African stalwart with oodles of international recognition, Amanda Laird Cherry’s collection is everything you’d expect from a designer of her caliber. The monochromatic pieces are full of extraordinary twists and drapes, they hang and move beautifully and are avant-garde and dramatic at the same time. Amanda was honoured in September 2019 at the World Fashion Awards in London, taking home the Fashion Designer of the Year award.

Look at the draping and detail! At Amanda Laird Cherry

Much drama in these pieces at Amanda Laird Cherry

Voluminously beautiful at Amanda Laird Cherry

Asymmetry and strappy detail at Amanda Laird Cherry

Theatrical pieces! At Amanda Laird Cherry

 

Rubicon, brainchild of Hangwani Nengovhela, has yet again created the quintessential effortless, form-flattering collection. The royal blue, white and yellow palette for her S/S 2021 collection oozes opulence and chic elegance and calls for leafy garden parties and all other of life’s celebrations.

Frill details for a feminine look at Rubicon

Crossover wrap dresses at Rubicon

Frills, frills and more frills! At Rubicon

 

Clive Rundle is one of South Africa’s most respected and beloved brands and has been creating avant-garde luxe womenswear for many years. At the heart of the brand is the re-imagination and elevation of textiles into timeless pieces and the playing with patterns and construction to create shapes that flatter the female form. This collection, under the creative directorship of experienced designer Mbuyiselo Malo, epitomizes the Clive Rundle signature look.

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A close-up of some surface details at Clive Rundle

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A stunning colour palette at Clive Rundle

Strappy dresses at Clive Rundle

Elasticated sleeve details at Clive Rundle

Avant-garde shapes at Clive Rundle

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Cecile Paul

Author at Pynck

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