SEPTEMBER ISSUES: WHO WILL BE THE BIGGEST OF THEM ALL?

BRITISH BAZAAR

American ELLE

US GLAMOUR

BRITISH MARIE CLAIRE

VANITY FAIR

BRITISH VOGUE

ELLE UK

JAPANESE VOGUE

AUSTRALIAN VOGUE

AUSTRALIAN BAZAAR

PICS: The Telegraph

PICTURES: DAVID TLALE AT CAPE TOWN FASHION WEEK

"I HATE BLOGGERS". OH, WELL! *SHRUGS*

   “All they want are freebies and to be seen. They just want fame, they don’t actually care about the story,” says the High-Snobiety of media traditionalists, feeling threatened by the one-man media machine that is the blogger. After reading a Mail & Guardian article about the grief (oh, shame) of food journalists who hate bloggers within that industry, I just cannot believe that such discriminatory beliefs still exist.
   My frustration is not what this sort of self-importance stands for, but the ignorance that, on the face of things, sounds like a professional trying to protect the integrity of journalism. See, media people tend to want to cluster bloggers into one category and have such a hate for them that they get left behind as their prized profession evolves right under their snooty noses.
   As a professional journalist myself, I know that the blogosphere cannot be ignored. It has that power to push such idiotic behaviour into a very dark and lonely corner I call “Archaisia”.
   I am in no way insinuating that arbitary excuses for bloggers be embraced, but I am saying that, out there, are some really credible bloggers, a lot of whom could not be bothered about the story, in actual fact!
   Some just want to capture the moment with their lenses. Some just want to muse about their entertaining lifestyles. Others, well, should never be given the light of day. Learn how to differentiate!      

   Better yet, get your own blog and do what you think should be done rather than complaining about a situation you can actually change. Lead the way and take that integrity you want to see into the digital age.

CAPE TOWN ADVENTURES ON THE SIDELINES OF #CTFW SS11/12

So, South African Tourism was generous enough to take this blogger to the Mothercity for Cape Town Fashion Week. But my stay in Cape Town was not just about threads, but also lots of wine and sightseeing. SA Tourism took me and a couple of other journalists and bloggers on different tours each day and out of these, my most favourite was the fashion tour, where we went to the Cape Peninsula University of Technology's clothing and textiles campus to learn about things like grading. They showed many machines that are used in manufacturing clothes; from a machine that uses software to cut patterns to the chemicals used to grade textiles. Oh, and there was also one that welds textiles, allowing one to stitch a garment without any actual stitching. Trust! It's true.
We also went to see a couple of stores in town, which was a lot of fun, bar the fact that I was too broke to shop.
I was a bit of a happy snapper (just a bit) and I brought back these pictures of some of the places and interesting spaces.



The view from my hotel room at The Pepper Club hotel

 



A wonderful restuarant you should definitely eat at next time you go to Cape Town
It is called "The Kitchen" and is situated on Main Street in Woodstock
The food is just amazing!

 




Me & You is a collaborative designer space, housing six designers
I thought this is a wonderful idea that Joburg designers need to start looking at

 




Designer Thulare Monareng's concept store "The Fashion Deli"
Monareng also allows other designers to stock their clothes here
She also stocks one label by two Capetonians who apparently refuse to leave the suburb of Observatory
Their label is called "Intsangu"...

 




The rails at Stefania Morland's store

 

A Right Royal Affair

This year's Vodacom Durban July could be the subject of much excitement as people get ready to dress up like Emperors, Princesses and probably Queens. It's a wonderful theme, but what worries me is how people may interprete it.
It is, of course, one that can get one's mind racing uncontrollably as they ponder an inspiration- Kate Middleton, the Queen herself or maybe even King Shaka of the Zulus? I am scared!
Over the past couple of years the fashion at the Durban July got designer Gideon quite perplexed. So "hurt" was he with the trivial standards that fashion at the races had descended to, he wrote a letter to a Durban newspaper complaining about it.
"Being a Durban designer, I feel proud to be from Durban and hold events such as this one very close to my heart. The July was always South Africa’s most elegant and sophisticated race day, however in the past few years I feel it has degenerated into a farce on fashion," he was quoted as saying.
Royalty and elegance go hand in hand for me. So, why not try something along these lines....

Pic: T Magazine, New York Times

It doesn't have to be Fashion Week!

At the risk of sounding somewhat insistent on the subject of the many fashion weeks that exist in South Africa, I have to share my thoughts about the wonderful event I thought Durban's Fashion Extravaganza, held at the weekend, was.
While some seem to believe that the words "fashion week" can and should be attached to any event with a runway, models and whomever claims to be a fashion designer, a Durban-based company decided to take a different route, introducing what they called the "homecoming" of the coastal city's fashion talent.
Never mind the sheer genius of holding the event on the Moyo Pier- it was bound to garner a lot of interest- the idea of bringing together some of SA fashion's biggest names, showcasing in an event that also featured young, unknown talent from the city, is something I think other groups or individuals, across the country, who organise pseudo-fashion weeks should try to emulate.
No, I'm not saying cut and paste the damn idea, but rather find something unique about their various cities and centre the event around that.
There are many ways, as I have said many times before, of contributing to the growth of South African fashion. Fashion is one industry that embraces diversity and change than probably any other I can think of. Bore fashionistas with a lack of originality and you've already lost our attention. This may be something anyone mulling a Bloemfontein Fashion Week ought to consider. Well, that's just an example. All I'm saying is; it doesn't have to be another "fashion week" to be a fashion event.

For a report on the established designers' show, called Fashion By the Sea click here

If I tumble, will I fall?

Over a month has passed since my last post on these pages. I'm at an experimental phase. I'm falling hard for the opportunities offered by my new tumblr blog and would like it very much if you could come with me on the journey, by visiting Stylediction, my tumblr blog.
Otherwise, I am also active on The Frock Report
Sartorial blessings, always!

Video: Mantsho at SA Fashion Week S/S

Video: Smarteez at SA Fashion Week S/S

Video: Black Coffee "Form.Function.Furniture" at SAFW S/S