With Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Johannesburg A/W’14 now concluded, we at SPICE are left reeling from all the fashion it brought – but that doesn’t mean we didn’t have our favourites.
See below our pick of the top 10 collections from the event, which includes three up and coming designers – two of whom were named winners in the AFI Fastrack competition. #Wowzers just aint the word…
First on our radar is Adriaan Kuiters. The Cape Town-based creative (and his partner in design Jody Paulsen) – whose clear aesthetic tends towards a no-fuss silhouette, a little oversizing here, shirts definitely somewhere – has done it again, bringing a brilliant A/W’14 to the runway; one that boasts all that is signature to the brand. This time taking prints somewhere fun, the label put layers of hands and sprinkles of eyeballs onto knitted pieces, and we can’t keep ours away from them.
Rich Mnisi
We’re glad this dual-talented photographer-designer walked his work down the runway at #MBFWJ, because it was out-of-the-box and just brilliant. The rising star once said, “I divide my work into two – I provide the masses with commercial fashion design, fads and the brave hearted with couture pieces that scream out individuality,” but we think perhaps he combined all categories for his entry into the AFI Fastrack competition, creating utterly wearable, one-of-a-kind and carefully crafted pieces, that seem to be fused with a fashion-loving, forward-thinking street attitude. In a nutshell, we like.
Self-proclaimed “Analytical creative,” designer Robynn Deedat displayed a fantastic collection for the AFI Fastrack comp, which saw minimalism laced in femininity unfold down the runway. There were street-fused pieces, such as an over-sized jumper with mesh panelling, plus a cool cropped sweatshirt that we could see totes see Rihanna wearing – that’s if she could wrestle us out of it first…
Another entrant in the AFI Fastrack competition was fashion designer and “connoisseur,” Mr Tuelo Nguyuza, who took layering to new levels with his futuristic take on well-dressed sportswear. We love the neon, the metallic and the uber-fringed shoulders, but mostly we love how it all combined for an interesting and cohesive collection. Congrats to Mr Tuelo, for his work and win the event.
For Fabiani, A/W’14 is all about the “modern Dandy”; a blend of modern trends and iconic classics. Having been in the business since 1978, we expect the brand know all about the classics, but what’s clear is its skills in suits – Fabiani’s for next season lead the way, with quirky prints, shades of deep red and light grey ticking off next season trends as they go. You might want to seek one out for yourself (they’ve stores all over SA), but hands off the polka dot set – we saw it first.
Known to craft with femininity at the fore-front of her mind, Durban-born designer Leigh Schubert has been about since ’02, and is back after a few years hiatus (and after winning many awards and accolades) with her A/W’14 collection – one you’ll want to wear and wear. In particular, we like the palette and the play of girly-ness against the geometrics used; a frill to wear with a boldly striped skirt? One genius look we will be seen in post summer.
Working from Leopard Frock, her creative workshop in Johannesburg, Marianne Fassler designs for “women who love individuality, identity, craftsmanship and diversity in their wardrobe.” But it’d be quicker to say she designs for us at SPICE – without having met us, Fassler clearly knows what we like and are sorely missing from our wardrobes. Other fans of Fassler will know she has a way with colour and finesse, but this latest collection is so moreish we can’t wait to be done with summer. We need us some Fassler, fast.
It all began in ’09, when Celeste Lee Arendse set up Selfi in Cape Town. And, many easy-to-wear collections later, we have an amazing range of fun things for next season, courtesy of Celeste’s A/W’14 collection. It’s cute, it’s playful, sexy, too – but one for girls with a love for fashion. How else would one truly appreciate the clashing of reverse-prints, or the genius that is two shades of blue worn together with pillar box red? And the details (cutouts, frills, collarless jackets)? Celeste, we want it all.
Shana
Shana’s collection for A/W’14 was one of quirks, textures and layering, where silk and sequins stood out against dark browns, black, plus pops of yellow and orange. For us, key to the cool of the collection was the balance between lounging and luxury; loose-fit pants were stepped up by gold sequins and silk panels, or plain bottoms bounced of a bright sweatshirt. It’s the combination of this contrast and Shana’s eye for styling that has made the range such a success, and us at SPICE ready to make wardrobe space for each piece.
And lastly, making our list is model, tailor and Jo’Burg-based designer, Zano Skorzch Sithetho, who aims to make “clothes a part of you, an identity, a feeling, an expression” – and guys, tell us you’re not feeling this for A/W’14? Known for well-done slim cuts in cool colour combinations, the brand lives up to expectations with its line up for next season, and we suggest you fit one inside your wardrobe, sharpish. Put simply, you’d be an under-dressed fool not to.
Image source: Simon Deiner @SDR Photo
