Day 1 of SA Menswear Week
(SAMW) for me turned out to be cool, enough. Started off rather punk-ish and
went into a spiritual journey followed on by adolescence and closed off on some
modern African vibes with a tribute to great local artists. Terrible lighting,
awkward spacing and shows running an hour and more late were only saved by the
fact that practically all the designers of the night delivered. Here is a
favourite from Wednesday, 3 February 2016:
Pilgrim
Clothing ZA by Siviwe James
Pilgrim Clothing ZA presented a
AW collection that fused the essence of nomads with that of people of faith. In
fact, of people of many faiths. The collection was an ocean of muted greys
flowing into blue hues. Nuances of the gender bender trend were present in
kilts and skirts and what should have been extra-length shirts that found
themselves as dresses. Beaded accessories were well thought through. The collection presented many forms of
religion and spirituality that translated independently with each individual.
As a debut offering from the designer, Siviwe James, the collection packs a
punch and shows a strong creative process and s balanced with an articulation
through design and finish.
Nao
Serati by Neo Serati Mofammere
Nao Serati presented a
collection called Transit which pretty much was a short story about a boy who
couldn’t give a fuck. In his hung over state, he wakes up to realise he has no
milk for his fruity-loops, so; he gets up, walks into his closet and grabs his
grey dungaree-come-jumper and slaps it over the poppy-yellow turtleneck he fell
asleep in and off he goes. After a much needed breakfast, he swaps his outfit
for a furry jumper with some yellow pocket flap sticking out and a pair of
pin-striped wide-leg pants and goes on over to his bestie for brunch. It’s all
so bright in his world as he moves from place to place with his sunnies on
because the sun is too harsh for his hung-over eyes but not for his wardrobe.
Half way through his day he realises he’s going to miss his flight – he jumps
into the shower, grabs his pin-striped off-shoulder dungaree and makes his way
to the airport. Promptly at the next destination he swaps easy-luxe for a
little high fashion with a rich velvet/chiffon two piece ensemble in navy that
closes the night with a bow. The collection is a mash-up of analogue and
digital, with fluorescent lighting and a touch of ‘fuck-you’ attitude. It’s
tomorrow’s boy today. It’s tailored, shaped and well styled with strong
consideration of fabrication and a healthy dose of colour. There is an
existence of staples as is and an opportunity to refine other presentations as
staples too.
Photographs by Larry English Photography.
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