BLACK HAIR POLITICS

I'm not a black woman. Nor am I dude sitting on the sidelines complaining about girls with weaves, but the debate over black hair has always been one I find interesting. It is one that affects black women more than it does me, but the debate itself is of such a nature that it goes to the very core of the self image we have of ourselves as black people (I always found it unfair how we were not allowed to rock dreadlocks in high school, this I just had to mention). Do girls rock weaves because they want to emulate the Beyonce's of this world or, even worse, do they find a weave's resemblance to Caucasian hair closer to beauty than nappy, curly black hair? Discussing black hair can indeed get political. This is why when I was browsing, running across a headline that reads "... Natural Hair movement personal, not political" I had to open the blog and find out what it's all about. This is how I stumbled across this heart warming short video about one black woman's hair journey and how going natural impacted on more than just the furry ball of black matter on her head. 

THOSE DAYS IN SEPTEMBER

Spring has been off to a good start. I've been having so much laid back fun and a fair amount of madness. Thank heavens that for now, at least, we can do things like swim, have braais (BBQs) wear short shorts and, of course, dazzle with our shades. Mine, pictured above, are Prada Baroque shades from Sunglass Hut. 

THE BIGGEST GATHERING OF SA FASHION AND HOW YOU CAN BE A PART OF IT

Suzaan Heyns, David Tlale, Black Coffee, Habits, Thula Sindi, Superella, Tiaan Nagel, TWO, Avant Apparel, Rubicon and Clive Rundle are just a few of the biggest names in South African fashion that will be gathered under one roof for the first time as Marie Claire magazine hosts its first trunk show on the 3rd of October. You will be afforded the opportunity to not only buy from these brands and many more at discounted prices but to also mingle with the editors of the magazine, enjoy some cocktails, win fabulous prices throughout the night and to get a make-over while being entertained by the sounds of Toya De Lazy. The event is being billed as the fashion social of the year. That is something you surely do not want to miss and I have the pleasure of offering you and a partner the opportunity to attend. By simply tweeting me @Sandiso_N with the hashtag #MCTrunkshow and letting me know how much you are itching to go you will stand a chance to win yourself a double ticket to the event. You have until tomorrow evening to do so, so get cracking! 

Otherwise, here are the details:
DATE: Wednesday 3 October 2012 
TIME: 5.30 for 6pm – 9pm
PLACE: Turbine Hall, 65 Ntemi Piliso Street, Jo’burg 
TICKET PRICE: R50 (for sale at marieclaire.co.za/events)

FRIDAY SARTORIALIST LOVE

PIC: THESARTORIALIST.COM

I so wouldn't change a thing about this look except maybe taking the pants in to fit perfectly on my skinny frame. Love it! Especially the print on that shirt.

MEN'S HEALTH COLLECTIONS 2012

My Heritage Weekend kicked off with the Men's Health Collections 2012 at the Turbine Hall in Newtown, Johannesburg where several brands, with the exception of Mr Price, showcased looks that I thought were very winter. This, I found weird considering we are almost a month into the warmer seasons. The clothes, let alone the models, were good to look at nonetheless. The one thing I didn't enjoy was the length of the show. Wow! We sat through the collections of 15 brands sans leg-stretching time, which would have been great. The brands included the likes of Diesel (if you look bad in Diesel you may want to ask God whether or not you were not supposed to be born in Mars instead), Carducci 78, Timberland, Hackett London, Porsche Design, True Religion (I know what you are thinking right now because I'm also too broke for these brands, but it's nice to look at anyway), CAT, Wrangler, adidas Originals, D66 from Edgars, Jeep, Mr Price and finally Palse Homme by Paledi Segapo where we were shown a collection we had already seen at SA Fashion Week earlier this year. I guess the designer didn't want to let the cat out the bag considering he will be showcasing a new collection at SAFW on Friday night.

MEN'S HEALTH EDITOR JASON BROWN OPENS THE SHOW

MH FASHION AND GROOMING EDITOR AZEEZ JACOBS
AFTER THE FINAL WALK-THROUGH WITH THE MODELS

Unfortunately I do not have the runway pics, but I do have these that I took with my friends and fellow bloggers sitting on the front row of what was a fun night out, doing our favourite thing... Looking at clothes!

ME, FUNEKA AND PHUTI

RIDWAAN, SISEKELO AND ME

REALLY FUNNY ACCOUNT OF BEING AN INTERN AT GQ MAGAZINE

FASHION QUOTES FROM #LFW AND #NYFW

New York and London have just concluded their spring/summer collections. Any one who loves fashion spends a lot of time on the web during fashion week season looking through the pics that come from the runways of New York, London, Milan and Paris. I am no different. With that comes a lot of reading and the world wide web is often littered with amazing quotes from the front row. I have compiled a few that have so far caught my eye and captured my imagination. If I find more, there'll definitely be a part 2. Here they are:

BURBERRY PRORSUM SS13 RTW AT #LFW

BURBERRY PRORSUM SS13 RTW AT #LFW

"The trench coat is to Burberry what the iPhone is to Apple. And here, as every season, it was remixed, ramped-up, and presented to buyers anew. Burberry's 2013 trenches included some fantastically rich, deeply coloured lace versions, and a fuchsia to midnight blue kaleidoscope of satin varieties." - Luke Leitch, The Telegraph

 

“I knew I had to jettison the corsetry and the bustles I did last season, and I knew I couldn’t go on with the trompe l’oeil.” - Mary Katrantzou on her critically acclaimed SS13 collection

MICHAEL KORS SS13 RTW AT #NYFW

"If I can sum it up in two words... Prison Break!" - Eric Wilson of the New York Times in reference to the stripes trend, by far the biggest to emerge out of New York Fashion Week's SS13 collections

"I don't know. China?" - Anna Dello Russo responding to a friend who asked where her 'beautiful' H&M jewellery line was made

"The photo prints at Proenza Schouler evoked Tumblr," - Cathy Horyn, NY Times Fashion Critic

PROENZA SCHOULER (PIC: DAZEDDIGITAL.COM)

"If the fashion catwalk cameo at the closing ceremony of the Olympics underwhelmed, it was because it represented everything that British fashion no longer is. It isn't - give or take a few international fashion editors - pompous. It isn't, apart from a few, best-ignored, designers, bombastic. It doesn't take itself too seriously and the models, on the whole, are troopers trying to make a living, not spoilt divas who haven't yet twigged that out-of-control egos are very last-decade," - Lisa Armstrong, The Telegraph

 

BONANG MATHEBA COVERS ELLE MAGAZINE

IMAGE COURTESY OF ELLE MAGAZINE SOUTH AFRICA

One of the country's best loved TV personalities Bonang Matheba covers the October issue of ELLE Magazine, which hit the shelves today. Now, before you start making wild speculations about why a lot of my blog posts are about ELLE lately... The reason is simple! They are doing good things and this (and the fact that they put ME on the judging panel of the Rising Star Design Award, LOL) is certainly one of them. Bonang is one of the biggest stars of her generation. ELLE is one of the best loved mags in the country. It only makes sense to me that they would want her on the cover. If I am not mistaken, the last time the magazine featured a local star on the cover was back in 2009 when 'District 9' actress Vanessa Haywood was featured, so yeah... This is a big deal! Congratulations to Bonang and thank you to ELLE Magazine for taking a leap of faith. It is never easy deciding on a local cover. 

MARY KATRANTZOU SS13 AT #LFW

Mary Katrantzou is like the goddess of print in modern day fashion. I'm in love with everything she touches. She was actually ther first person that came to mind when I first saw ELLE Rising Star Design Award finalist Sindiso Khumalo's work. Both designers just have something fresh about them. Many could ask how one can keep print- the mainstay of Katrantzou's work- interesting but the designer keeps showing that it is possible by always adding new dimensions to the design of the clothes as seen in her latest collection, showcased last night at London Fashion Week. Love her work! (All pics are from Vogue.co.uk)

 

ELLE RISING STAR DESIGN AWARDS

JANE ELIZABETH KOTZE ACCEPTS HER PRICE FROM ELLE EDITOR JACKIE BURGER AND
MR PRICE MD NICCI LYNE

Being on the judging panel for the ELLE Rising Star Designer Awards has to be one of the best things I've done this year. It was such an honour to sit on the same panel as Jackie Burger and Poppy Evans from ELLE Magazine, Amber Jones and Joanne Coelho Frederich (both from Mr Price), designer Anisa Mpungwe (who is herself a former winner of the competition previously known as ELLE New Talent) as well as Dr Nicola Kleyn from GIBS. Shaakira Chohan joined us on the final day of the judging after she won the ELLE competition aimed at getting a reader on the panel. It was an extremely rewarding process and I enjoyed every minute of it. I am proud of the eight finalists we shortlisted and I truly believe that every single one of them has a bright future waiting for them in the fashion industry. Congratulations to Jane Elizabeth Kotze who came out tops. I look forward to seeing what she will be coming up with to wow South Africa's fashion lovers.

 TWO AMAZING LOOKS FROM JANE ELIZABETH KOTZE'S WINNING COLLECTION

COURTESY ELLE.CO.ZA

COURTESY ELLE.CO.ZA

SOME OF THE COLLECTIONS PRODUCED BY THE OTHER FINALISTS

GABRIELLE DARNE

SINDISO KHUMALO

TAMARA CHERIE DYSON

THE FINALISTS

AUDITIONING FOR A SPOT ON RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE, ARE WE?

No I'm not auditioning for a spot on RuPaul's Drag Race. I'm far too tame for that, I think! I did, however, want to share some of these pictures with you. I took them the other day when I went to have dinner with friends at Jamakazi's place. Jama is part-owner of Fruitcake Vintage, a shop that you should check out in central Jozi at the Fashion Kapitol, 130 Pritchard Street. At her house she has rails and rails of the most amazing vintage threads. I couldn't help myself. Just had to play dress up!

WANNA COME TO THE ELLE RISING STAR DESIGNER AWARDS?

As you probably know I am one of the judges in this year’s ELLE Rising Star Designer Awards. We’ve gone through some very exciting storyboards over the past couple of months and settled on several designers we believe have the necessary talent and business savvy to become successful designers. This Thursday we are crowning the winning designer and you could be at the event to witness it all. All you have to do is comment on who you think should win, either below or via twitter. Tweet me @Sandiso_N and Cc @ellemagazinesa as well as the hashtag #ellerisingstar2012

All you need to tell me is why you think your pick is best. Competition closes at midday tomorrow (11 September 2012). If you enter, you must be able to attend the event at 6pm on Thursday (13 September) at the Shine Studios in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.

Visit ELLE.co.za to view the finalists and make your pic.

GEORGIA MAY JAGGER, SUNGLASS HUT AMBASSADOR

The beautiful Georgia May Jagger has been announced as the new global ambassador for Sunglass Hut. She is, of course, the daughter of one of the world's best known rockstars Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall. At only 20-years-old Georgia May is already being called a fashion icon by some and will start appearing in a new Sunglass Hut campaign this month.