Over the past year I have seen nearly 300 fashion collections come down a runway in person and countless more online. I have seen student designers, graduate designers, emerging designers, commercial designers, conceptual designers, established designers and the designers who have become household names.

I have taken books of notes, giant folders of photos and written over 150 reviews. I have also formed some very strong opinions on all the highs and lows of local fashion.

This week I want to call out the five names to watch in local fashion. These are all young, emerging designers who have not established themselves with a shop or even a studio in some cases. They are the pretenders to the throne and worth trying to see before they become a part of the fashion establishment.

Lara Klawikowski

One year since graduating, Lara Klawikowski showed an impressive five-piece mini collection of men's and women's clothing as part of the Graduate Show finale at Arise Cape Town Fashion Week in August 2009. She is continuing her studies currently at the Cape Town College of Fashion Design, but the innovative 'armour' in her collection that was made from unexpected materials such as the inner tubes of car tyres made me really sit up and take notice. The construction on her jackets was exceptional, as was the clarity of her point of view. Lara won the Vodacom Durban July Young Designers Award as well as the CSI Foschini Design Awards in 2008. I am very excited to see where she takes us next on her journey.

Elaine du Plessis for Christopher Strong

Watching Elaine du Plessis's first full collection at the Sanlam SA Fashion Week regional shows in Cape Town in October, I got that rare little bubble of excitement in my belly. It is a visceral response and has only happened three or four times in this country — but when it does happen, it indicates something very, very special. Elaine has shown at What If The World Gallery and has been seen on the pages of Elle several times but now it is ripe for the rest of us to take some notice. I will be heading to her studio soon to see what I can pick up for summer.

Tanya Demby

I watched the collection from Tanya Demby, a graduate of Lisof in Johannesburg, at Sanlam SA Fashion Week shows in April in Johannesburg. Her collection was a part of the Elle New Talent Awards Show and she was one of the six finalists in this prestigious award. Her collection impressed in its sporty separates with wonderful fluidity and innovative fabrication. Her eye for trend is extremely well-honed and the proud, geometric styling was masterful. Fresh, clever and very contemporary this designer is worth keeping an eye on for her ahead-of-the-fashion-curve silhouettes and designs.

Tozama Dyantji

The winner of the 2008 Vukani High Fashion Award and the Richard Bloom Award, both as a second year student at Fedisa in Cape Town, it is apparent that Tozama is on a rapid path to the top. Having already shown at MTN Durban Fashion Week in 2008, I nearly tripped over my camera strap when I was shooting the Fedisa graduate collections late last year when I saw her contribution. Like some kind of subversive homage, her work is intelligent and frighteningly mature. I am looking forward to seeing her 2009 collection on 7 November at Wembley Square in Cape Town at the next graduate show. I have no idea what to expect, but since she did some holiday work dressing the models backstage at Africa Fashion Week this year, I would imagine that her aesthetic has continued to evolve and grow.

David West

And finally, an established designer who fell off the map for a few years as he went to work in the big bad corporate world. David West re-launched his eponymous label in 2009 and showed a fascinating and humorous collection at the Sanlam SA Fashion Week regionals in Cape Town this month. While I felt that this collection tried somewhat too hard, I have faith in his voice and his ability to stir things up. With a residual cult following, and much to prove over the next year, I am excited about what is to come and how this will translate in his second coming. You can get his t-shirts and other bits at a store in Kloof Street Cape Town.

For more information on Robyn and photos of other successful layering techniques, go to: http://styleguidecapetown.blogspot.com