SA Menswear
Week (SAMW) AW18 recently took place in Cape Town at City Hall showcasing a
variety of fashion and trends for men locally and globally. As always, the big
questions are whose collection will come out tops? Who will provide an
incredibly creative yet simultaneously commercially viable collection? Whose
eye for trends will translate into retail success and will time be spent regretting
attending or celebrating the evolution of the designers on this young and
prominent platform?
In particular I
was not completely wowed. There were some underwhelming moments and there were
neutral experiences, however, as with any event in life, there was spectacular bursts
of magic – not necessarily from a creative perspective, but essentially from
the clear evidence of development, evolution, progression and simply put – a designer’s
obvious understanding of who they were designing for.
A great
surprise was the inclusion of three Durban-based designers, brought down by the
eThekwini Municipality and its fashion platform, Durban Fashion Fair. As with
my recently new policy, I’ll focus this review on the collections to note –
those collections that left me disappointed will be dealt with directly with
each designer. Here’s my pick from the SAMW AW18 installment (in alphabetical
order).
ALC MAN
presented a collection evidently an extension of its previous SS17/18
collection. The tapestry sewn with connected and interlocking pieces that
extend the form and cut of garment into a new shape when worn were in place
again. There was an inclusion of dynamic outerwear pieces in the form of
Kimono-inspired coats and capes. The colour palette drew from royal blue and
earthy beige neutrals, highlighted with pungent reds, deep emerald greens and
subdued yellows. Entirely the collection is a great step further from what it
originally was and its play on creativity and ready-to-wear allows it to be a
dynamic retail ready collection.
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
The all-female
duo from Augustine did it again with a fluid and retail-ready collection. This
serving of athleisure was a standard representation of their designs’
accessibility. Combining a number of key outerwear pieces with well-designed
everyday items, Augustine provided us with a collection that maximises its
versatility to suit a lifestyle completely. I definitely enjoyed how the
designers played with subtle details on what would-be basic pieces, turning
them into designed designer basics. It’s certainly one of the collections to
go-to to find essential wardrobe items for seasons to come.
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
Good Good Good
did the most for me when it came to interpreting their lifestyle, reflecting
their understanding of their market, within the structures of popular culture
and mass media trends. I particularly enjoyed their evident development from
their previous collection and how they switched from artistic, wild-hearted original
prints to a slightly subversive manipulation of fabrics, textures and colour
combinations. I think a winning factor with this collection is its ability to
live within any generation currently present on this earth. It’s more
young-at-heart than young-at-age, and that allows its well-finished, complimentary
style shaping and luxe comfort levels to exist through seasons, quote possibly
making this one of the more resort, trans-seasonal collections yet to be
presented at the SAMW AW18 collections serving.
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
Interesting
fabric choices is something the brand, Maxivive, has happened to get right for
their career in showcasing on the SAMW platform. The AW18 collection was a
clear extension from both the AW17 and AW16 collections, with a few nuances
from the brand’s diffusion line MXVV from their AW16 collection. It’s always
exciting to see a brand that produces a full product mix – which Maxivive does –
showcasing apparel, footwear and bags. The other aspect of Maxivive that
continues to rejoice my attention is the series of small design details incorporated
that create either a fresh silhouette or dynamic interaction between garment
and wearer.
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
Terrence Bray,
I have found in recent years, is one of those designers and brands that you
have to step back when viewing and allow the experience to process itself over
time. Its take on being more creatively expressive can be humbling and requires
you to constantly understand that some items are likely to be watered down for
retail viability. I did enjoy this collection presentation, especially because
it have a naïve novelty about it that conjured nostalgic memories of childhood,
family experiences and innocent adolescence. I also loved the inclusion of
plenty of colour and textures.
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
Tokyo James
once again produced a titillating collection for all to behold. Part extension
of the previous SS17/18 collection, part new work in collaboration with Vlisco
& Co, the collection was a spectacular viewing of great fabrication, colour
explorations and motif introductions, with the brand moving on from the spider
in the previous collection to introducing ants and what I believe were flamingos
in one of the looks. I absolutely loved the bags and cowboy-ish shoes that walked
the runway. Essentially a coherent offering, Tokyo James has reminded us with
this collection of his strong skills in paying attention to details,
understanding of tailoring and his cheeky personality with hints of diva.
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
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| Image credit: SDR Photos |
Sidebar: Three
other brands currently not featured in this post are Kim Gush, Chulaap and
Imprint. These three also put out great collections, synonymous with their
signature personality traits and design aesthetics, they produced collections
that extended on their brand ethos and further confirmed their presence in the
market as innovative, fun and dedicated menswear brands. We hope in July, when
the SS18/19 collections are presented, we will see more greats come to the
fore.
Until next
time, happy styling!
#menswear #samw
#samwaw18 #fashiontalks
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