#MBFWCT Special: Review of Day 2

Today, a week ago, MBFWCT hosted four fantastic shows at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in the Foreshore area of Cape Town. The shows were by Leigh Schubert, Habits, Craig Port and Gavin Rajah. Now I unfortunately could not attend the Leigh Schubert and Gavin Rajah shows, so having some sort of formal say on what they produced and what I thought about it would not really be fair for me to them. So I won’t speak of them. Instead, I’ll show you a photo or two and for the rest of their shows, feel free to visit SDR Photo’s website to view the full collections.

Leigh Schubert // Copyright SDR Photos

Gavin Rajah // Copyright SDR Photos

Gavin Rajah // Copyright SDR Photos

Instead, I will speak about the Habits show and the Craig Port, menswear line that I saw, which had an interesting, almost sticky surprise. So I was invited to the Habits show as a guest. I thought being a guest meant getting a seat the was either first or second row. Instead, I got a ticket right at the back. I suppose I should be grateful I got any kind of access at all, right?

Habits // Copyright SDR Photos

Habits // Copyright SDR Photos

Habits // Copyright SDR Photos

Jenny Le Roux for Habits // Copyright SDR Photos

Anyway, I enjoyed the show. I loved the quaint old-school intro at the beginning. Very Gatsy, or The Artist. And it really set the tone for what was to be offered and I must admit, I loved the collection. I thought it was a great reflection of Jenny Le Roux and her personality. From the Chicago styled gowns at the beginning, the beautiful floral prints with see-through ‘raincoat’ style jackets in the middle of the collection, to the blue lace and pleated chiffon ensemble with the detached collar at the end.

It all just felt very fabulous, very feminine, very lady-like. It was young and filled with a sexy attitude that I could see every women portraying. The whole collection is definitely one that presents itself with many pieces women all over should be securing for that special feel-good moment in Spring/Summer this year.

There was some major buzz around the Craig Port show. Firstly, it was in conjunction with GQ and GLAMOUR magazines and then there was the whispering about Lindiwe Suttle opening the show. My goodness were people right on all accounts. The screens opened to a poised Lindiwe bolting out, “This Is A Man’s World” in a black gold-dusted number, on a platform before an art-decoed set. I sat back and went, ‘wow’.

Craig Port // Copyright SDR Photos

Craig Port // Copyright SDR Photos

Craig Port // Copyright SDR Photos

Craig Port managed to throw in another surprise with the introduction of a womenswear line. I wasn’t particularly impressed with it, but I guess all designers would like the luxury of dabbling in the ladies department. It does open the opportunity to make visible sales a bit more. And the pieces provided were definitely those that young girls would go screaming for. But, I’m a menswear blogger, so back to the gents.

Craig Port // Copyright SDR Photos

The collection as a whole looked a lot like something perfect for YDE. I didn’t get the feeling that I could save cash and splurge on a bespoke service with the Craig Port brand. I did have a few pieces that I just thought I’d like to update my wardrobe with. One of them was a pair of printed pants, looked like a paisley print in fact, that was matched with a standard black crew neck tee. I also loved the introduction of the American footballer look (something I saw with Stiaan Louw earlier in the year) and the cut of the tracksuit was great and fitting.

Craig Port // Copyright SDR Photos

I also enjoyed the look and feel of the active daywear. It looked super comfy and completely relaxed in a stylish way. There were some inclusions of colour and some of the colour combinations did make for a striking presentation, however, if looked at individually, you wouldn’t necessarily find anything breakthrough with them.

All in all I enjoyed Day 2’s shows. They were fun and showcased some personality directly linked back to the designers, which is always something key when presenting a collection. A bit more adventurous moves would have been appreciated, but alas, I must remember that it might be fashion week, but the aim is to sell as well.