Mercedes Benz Fashion Week – Johannesburg kicked off on the 10th and was running until the 12th, March – featuring a well mix of South Africa’s emerging and established designers. Organised and curated by African Fashion Week (AFI), the 3 – day event was held at Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton. We have presented you with the people we spotted at #MBFWJ16 and the David Tlale show – now here are runway pictures of all the shows we attended.
Designer – Khosi Nkosi
Khosi Nkosi presented a colourful collection with prints, tangerine and capes on capes on capes – the showcase was rather pretty mild!!!
Designer – Marianne Frassler
One of SA’s most revered fashion designers – Frassler presented some patch work in velvet and very decorative pieces and some detailed hems and pleats was beautiful on some dresses. Frassler’s designs make come across as confusing and offbeat but it is done well and she’s not entirely contemporary. Elegant dresses came along and Frassler’s showcased that she doesn’t move with the rest – she has set her own path and you may like it or hate it!
Day 2!
Designer – Tamara Cherie
With her collection ‘Dusk till Dawn’ Tamara opened the shows on Day 2 with a bang, showcasing the most impressive minimalist collection of functional day time and evening wear pieces. The clothes were beautiful in grey tones, mustard, ivory and contemporary knitting modern khits. Clean and elegant lines all round – this can be described as a capsule wardrobe who needs as many options as possible for both work and play, this collection is effortless and has great quality!
Designer – Tuelo Nyunguza Collectiv
Former AFI Fasttrack winner and a local celeb favourite – Tuelo’s designs are beautiful in simple, well cut shapes with bold colour combinations. The dresses were beautifully styled for the red carpet moments and ready to wear items were nicely layered.
Designer – Mille Collines
Lovely collection – The designs were made with every women in mind, functional pieces were in suites and dresses which could be for work, meeting or a night with the girls. It’s beautiful to see a well-rounded collection, neautrals were effortlessly with a pop of colour and the whole affair was sophisticated, easy and chic!
Day 3!
Designer – Akedo Exclusive
Knitted pieces with a youthful and graphic edge – the presentation was very artistic with decorative eyelet details and ribbons as well as layering.
Designer – Selfi
This designer brought a collection with grunge in muted and tonal colour palettes – prints and stripes that and pyjama suits, scarves and berets.
Designer – Augustine
Beautiful tailoring in modern and urban pieces in athlete– leisure and androgynous pieces.
Designer – Leigh Schubert
From fitted pieces to A – line, there were dresses for all women in grey pallets, electric blues, yellow and black in striking geometric prints.
Designer – Grapevine
This designer showcased a combination of sophisticated and elegant pieces. This was a good dose of beyond contemporary pieces of clothing!
Designer – Carducci
Tailored to perfection pieces for every kind of men, but mostly for men who adores well-tailored, elegant and classic clothing! Carducci was my biggest highlight of fashion week, in shades of blue and grey with a touch of colour in mustard and burgundy – the range was well presented and styled to perfection. The range had a formal and semiformal feel which included trench coats, blazers suit pants and scarves. All Hail Carducci! His designs are luxurious and super stylish! *dear BLESSER, a Carducci wardrobe is mandatory for you* coughs!
Fashion week is a beautiful and diverse space for designers to showcase their upcoming collection and an opportunity for fashion lovers to see first-hand what is upcoming for the next season. All I can say is that every person – fashion loving or not needs to attend a fashion show in their lifetime, the experience and ambience is beautiful.
Which designer/s are you most impressed with?
Thank you so much Tribeca PR for the invite and an amazing experience at #MBFWJ2016 – hope to see you on the Cape Town edition!
Pics: AFI
By Zintle Daraza
@Zdaraza