Today, 20 April 2008

Yesterday, 19 April 2008

Following on from Friday's assortment of shows the second day of Joburg Sanlam Fashion Week, showing at Museum Africa in Newtown, was even more encouraging than the first.

The highlight of the day (besides Ruby's men clad in toycar-riddled undies) was no doubt Lunar, who lived up to their intrinsic style, showcasing a range that was not only relevant (being linked closely with the theme of the exhibition of clothing at the museum) but also exquisitely thought out. Models radiated sleekness in earthy colours, while the garments also allowed for a certain coolness, lacking the stiff lines that many of the winter collections dictated.

Some would have noticed the relation of the clothing again to the museum's collection of ostrich feather shawls, frilly overgarments and hyde-textured materials echoing South African history.

Carrying on from the African theme, Tando Zamxaka's designs were afro-inspired with a touch of colonial. Practical and beautiful meets ethnic. Fabrics shouted Africa, while high-collared necks ushered in a kind of European winter fashion.

All the rage

Satin and knits are all the rage this winter. Bright blue satin peeked out from jackets in the Strangelove collection as well as with Hermanna Rush's compilation. Strangelove went with a somewhat bold theme which hinted at Spanish, with corsets over collared shirts for men and women. An interesting addition — long dress-length shirts for men. Hermanna Rush's creative supplement — fabrics etched with winter scenes.

Mon Moir also made use of the knit and satin rage with little black numbers sporting satin sashes crisscrossed over the dresses in different ways. Just-below-the-knee skirts, knit-wrap dresses and generous-collared jackets were all part of Mon Moir's repertoire.

Rubicon also jumped on the knit bandwagon, this time with knit dresses in oranges and earthy colours. Pastel purple also made a debut. The addition however of checkered pants and dresses echoed the school-girl theme which also ran through many of the collections, and is not something I'm fond of.

Miss Scarlet also went school-girl dress crazy, but the rest of her wear was comfortable, casual bordering on smart and very appealing to the working woman.

And then there were Two

Two's collection consisted of a frenzy of retro colour — olive green, lumo pink and bright-red collared shirts for the gals wanting to make a splash — matching tights also featured underneath black below-the-knee skirts.

The House of Ole had an interesting take on African, but the African celebrities sporting the gear looked comfortable clad in browns mixed with a host of anything goes.

Last and most certainly least (with only five models bracing the catwalk) was Clive Rundle, an icon in the fashion industry, his shows are more about art than fashion. There were some interesting items in his almost eighties-like punk fashion display: A coat made from mesh and plastic was nothing more than interesting, and a top made from plastic disco circles also caught my eye. No doubt he makes beautiful clothing and an even bigger statement, but seriously, a showing most overrated.

So that was it, a short two-day showing packed with the latest trends in winter fashion. For more information visit www.sanlamfashionweek.co.za