LUPITA NYONG'O'S OSCAR WIN IS A TRIUMPH FOR BLACK AFRICAN EXCELLENCE

PIC: REUTERS.COM

When Lupita Nyong’o walked away with the best Supporting Actress accolade at the Oscars a few hours ago, I tweeted that it makes her the “first African” to win the coveted Academy Award but that would, of course, be incorrect. Charlize Theron won for her brilliant performance in Monster a decade ago. My intention was to tweet that it made Lupita the first black African.

I have to say, tweeting this did come with some hesitation because I know how easy it is to start a race debate by tweeting such things but my instinct was to tweet it anyway because, you know, it’s something worth celebrating.

One of my followers took offence to what I said and went as far as saying my thinking irritates him because “African is African”. Why racialise things, anyway?

Well, there are several points I need to make because in hindsight it would seem that I’m being racial about things, but the fact of the matter is that I am simply being realistic in celebrating black African excellence because history has always sought to tell us that we can’t be great. History has often sought to make us the scum of human existence.

In her acceptance speech Lupita said; “No matter where you’re from your dreams are valid”. For black people, and the undeniable historical disadvantage we’ve been through, celebrating what can be seen as the breaking down of an historical hurdle is given credence by the very disadvantage that remains a global reality. Not acknowledging this is tantamount to denying the past and this is something I cannot do. The point of all of this is that our celebration of ourselves as black Africans cannot and should not be seen as being racist or a downplay of any achievement by a non-black African. It is not that we are not proud of Charlize Theron’s win or Mark Shuttleworth’s voyage into space as the first African to do so. We are, but celebrating that which is specifically a global achievement by a black African is not simply a celebration of Africa but also a celebration of the strides that history is making in leveling the playing field. In closing, I’d like to quote Simphiwe Dana when she tweeted; “Lupita Nyong’o, the world just became a sweeter place. A place I am proud to call home.”

We’ve been denied a lot in the past. We cannot now deny ourselves the opportunity to celebrate ourselves. Besides, eliminating race from our discourse would make for a hunky corey story of a racial Utopian that quite simply does not exist. 

(This post was edited to add a last line that was previously missing from the original story)

TALKING FASHION ON POWER FM WITH AZANIA MOSAKA

I was lucky enough to be one of two featured bloggers invited to Power FM presenter Azania Mosaka's midday show a couple of Fridays ago. The other blogger was Thithi Ntetha of teeteeiswithme.com and we spent the afternoon talking about blogging, fashion and other issues. What was most interesting is how the chat naturally evolved into a conversation about what I see as a sore point for the global fashion industry- runway racism. It's real! We also had a frank chat about wearing South African fashion and our thoughts on fashion week, etc. Trust me when I say you have never heard a conversation this honest. Opportunities like this one to just engage about an industry I love very much are very hard to come by and I hope you will take the time to listen to at least part of the conversation and let me know what you think.

x

The Balance of Forces on Fashion's Frontrow

Fashion Powerhouses; Suzy Menkes, Michael Roberts, Bryanboy, Sally Singer, Anna Wintour, Hammish Bowles and Tommy Ton on frontrow in Milan

(pic from Dennis Valle/NY Times)

When Sonia Booth threw a hissy fit at the Audi Joburg Fashion Week (JFW) earlier this year due to her seat being taken by a relative “nobody” it was symbolic of the power struggles that grip front rows at fashion weeks across the globe. God-forbid a designer’s publicist places Anna Wintour or Suzy Menkes in second or third row; such would be a literal death wish! Well, in terms of fashion, anyways.
The rise of the fashion bloggers with real superstar clout and influence has brought about a new headache for fashion designers and publicists as they try to allocate seats for editors, buyers, friends of designers and celebrities. Where do they place Bryan Boy or Scott Schuman? They have to be on the front row, their influence is undeniable. Where, then, do the likes of Anna Wintour and her counterparts at Harpers Bazaar, ELLE, W and other influential publication go, without finding themselves next to each other(God Forbid)? Adding to the stress of bloggers needing to placed, there’s also the online editors of fashion publications who- as a result of magazines trying to play catch up with developments that have chowed away at their dominance in the industry- also need to be prominently seated.
The composition of the fashion week front row is indicative of the balance of forces in fashion and as this changes, so does the thinking behind who goes where in those seats. I guess in South Africa, where- bar SA Fashion Week- celebrities and friends of the elite dominate the front row, it is no rocket science where the publicists think fashion power and influence lie, now is it? Okay, okay… Let me be fair. Africa Fashion Week 2010 was kind of different to what had been the trend at the inaugural event as well as JFW, where members of the media could be found on the third or even fourth row.
For me, observing the tussles and the rush to take over front row as soon as the announcement is made that empty seats can be taken is always fascinating. We all love power. Even when it is just a “look”!
Read "At Fashion Week, It's Where You Sit That Counts" in the New York Times

Fashion's Newfound "realness" is a farce

Celebrity covers are far from dead. "Real People" covers are a passing fad.

I have no doubt in my mind that the magazine industry’s fresh approach of unretouched images, normal folk rather than models and celebrities, plus-size rather than size-zero is exactly that- fresh and appealing, but it is all starting to seem like yet another trend that we will all obsess about before really getting to grips with the reality that fashion is an industry that feeds off on “fantasy” rather than reality. The reason we all want those Jimmy Choos is because SJP’s Carrie Bradshaw made them cool, despite the price tag, when there are many other good shoes for far less a price; Aldo, for instance.

I’ve just read an article about how Essentials Magazine in the UK came out with no models and celebrities from cover to cover this month and how Glamour US was applauded for refusing to retouch images of plus-size model Lizzie Miller last year. How noble!

For me, the whole obsession with “realness” is based on our thirst for a more utilitarian existence and perhaps it is a much needed break from all the bombardment with luxury that had us all “wanting” rather than “needing” before the economic meltdown came and reminded us that needs should, after all, take priority over what we want. Luxury is a want and unfortunately the price tag on contemporary brands, the price tag on good brands- in fact- makes the likes of Marc Jacobs, Gucci, LV, David Tlale, Black Coffee and Marianne Fassler a luxury. If we need to wear clothes and look good in them too Mr. Price has lots on offer for a fraction of the price, but who will settle for Monsieur if their bank balance allows for Country Road? Essentially, it may be interesting now to be buying “real” covers with real people on them and not photo-shopped faces of Chanel Iman and the like and maybe this is sustainable for a magazine like Essentials, but for magazines with a specific focus on fashion I can tell you now that fashionistas are not trying to buy mags that feature some “girl-next-door” on the cover let alone fashion spreads that are too close to reality and what we can actually afford. Fashion mags are all about aspiration and their allure lies in the fantasy element and their portrayal of perfection that we all know is unattainable. As Milisuthando Bongela argued in the September issue of Marie Claire; fashion may have her ethics in a shambles but those who consume it have a choice. Consumers in this regard, myself included, prefer the hottest Hollywood It Girl on the cover rather than Mrs. So and So who won a competition on fashion covers. The reality is that Mrs. So-and-So will probably not succeed in selling a pair of jeans or a top to me, the It Girl does.

Show Your Respect and Passion for the Fashion Industry!

I will not mince my words! When I read a twitter update by fellow blogger Maque DeGourgeous about a probable Pretoria Fashion Week I surprisingly felt no anger as is usually the case when people insult the world of fashion in this disappointing manner. What I felt instead was shame for whoever the idiot convening this event is. I've done no research into it, as I am not in the slightest interested in yet another idiotic "fashion week" venture.
One thing is clear. The conveners of Pretoria Fashion Week have done little to no research into the viability of such an event. Had they done so, they will know that no fashion commentator, blogger or journalist is in support of ludicrous initiatives that lack substance, disguising as much needed platforms for local designers. Had these people, who obviously have lots of dough to throw around on useless projects, done any research they would understand that organising yet another "fashion week" is detrimental to the industry as it segments rather than builds it. What this petty initiative will do, like all other such ludicrous ideas, is to promise some talented aspiring designers some or other form of recognition and what it will deliver is much disappointment and sheer confusion about what it takes to be a designer worthy of a fashion week showcase.
Few designers in South Africa are worthy of this and thanks to the likes of Pretoria Fashion Week the standard will drop to a new low.
I appeal to fashion writers, bloggers and editors with an ounce of respect for what they do to boycott this sort of insult on the fashion industry. I also appeal to aspiring designers to respect their craft by refining it and by aiming to showcase at credible fashion week platforms. Anyone who entertains this stupidity is obviously a fashion slave who lacks substance and believes fashion is about little more than pieces of cloth sewn together to make anything that resembles a garment.

Is Fashion the Business of Airheads?

Vogue Italia photoshoot, pic from Guardian.co.uk

The refusal by some to acknowledge fashion as an art is a shame. Fashion is often found wanting when it comes to ethics but sometimes I think people tend to overexagerate and seek to portray fashion as something far removed from our daily lives.
I'm particularly refering to Vogue Italia's controversial oil spill shoot; a reference to the worst environmental disaster in US history. The fact that it is making people talk is, for me, an achievement on the part of those who executed the idea.
Creativity, by it's very nature, often challenges accepted norms and stretches the boundaries. If it didn't then it wouldn't be valid, now would it? Fine artists often find themselves running into trouble with politicians; Zapiro, for instance. There was also, more recently, Yuill Damaso whose painting of a dead Nelson Mandela put him at odds with the Mandela Foundation. Methinks he achieved what art is meant to do; again, challenging social norms.
If fine artists can do this sort of thing, why is fashion condemned when it speaks to social issues. Why, for the love of God, should fashion be seen as an ignorant section of society that should not be allowed to express itself through the depiction of world events, disastrous or otherwise?
The notion- which fashionistas are guilty of not caring to confront- that people in fashion are detached from the rest of the world is one that we must seek to challenge and eliminate. Fashion is an art and very much a part of humankind. Fashionistas also have brains and opinions. And if a fashion editor wants to express their consciousness through a fashion spread, so be it! Political journos and observers are not the only ones who have the right to comment on social ills and the like.

The non-existent fashion journalism in SA

The cronyism in South Africa’s fashion journalism landscape is an albatross that remains at the centre of our inability to tell stories, important stories that can go a long way in contributing to the amelioration of our fashion industry. A designer I had the pleasure to meet at SA fashion week over the past weekend spoke of how editors from the big publications in this country have egos the size of New York and how the tradition of kissing-ass leaves stories like her own, in my opinion, untold and younger designers unable to learn from others.
If you look at how South African designers are covered by the local media you will realize that journalists seek to portray them as pseudo celebrities with little more to tell than just how “genius" they are. There seems to be a culture of “worship this guy, he’s a cut above the rest. He is also my friend”. All it helps is to send out this message that these people are demigods. Unfortunately, though, the demigod status leaves them at the edge, about to fall off as a result of their inability to run businesses profitably. All they profit from is a public glare, attention from fans who can’t even afford their overpriced garments and being bestowed with undeserved titles.
Fashion spreads are filled with clothes that most of the magazine readership can only dream of owning. If your name is Tlale or Rundle, congratulations, the mags are dying to have your clothes in their spreads.
There’s also this sickening mentality that if a designer’s collections are simple and practical, this designer has no idea what they are doing. Fashion is an art. Yes, it is. But I’ll also have you know that artists often starve unless they present works that actually speak to the audience.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with presenting Lady Gaga outrageousness, but should there not be a balance between avant-garde and ready-to-wear? For show purposes, couture is great, but what are you offering the everyday person who is actually looking for something to wear at work or on a great night out?
Methinks the notion that creativity can only exist in outrageousness is a myth that is bandied about by those who know not the meaning of creativity. It is an assumption made by those who are choked by the madness that weird is the epitome of art and simple is the territory of the bland.
Beyond this, I was seriously shocked when, at one designer’s show, the audience gave a standing ovation after a show that made no sense, interpreted summer as a time to look glamourous and ignored the fact that it’s the season when the sun is rarely forgiving.
In essence, until such time that those of us who write about local fashion start telling the truth and stop kissing designer ass our contribution to fashion will remain where it is at right now. Non-existent!

Is all that's African curio?

Browsing through a blog this morning I stumbled upon pictures of a fashion spread, supposedly from TIME Magazine, called "Out of Africa". I'm sure by now you know what the look and feel of it is; it's a no-brainer. Africa theme + fashion spread= Curio!
Big, round, wooden earings. Hats made of straw, fastened with a piece of scarf-like cloth. Necklaces resembling a Zulu kraal. Bold print blazers and peacock print skirts. And at the model's feet? Is it not always sandals? It is all just exhausting.
In 2009, this is how Africa is still represented in the world of fashion; as some sort of archaic, non-evolving organism. It makes me want to puke!
Don't get me wrong, the garments look amazing, I just can't help seeing beyond the theme given to the spread though and the Grace Jones clone they used as a model... oh, wow! What can I say?
As an art form it is amazing how fashion has, after all these years, only managed to explore Africa from a very shallow perspective choosing to only see it as a place that can only inspire tribal couture. Where do they think most of the world's gold comes from? Have they not been to Johannesburg and seen how not-so-dull and wooden the colours on the streets are?
Besides, are they not getting tired of exploring the continent from one perspective. If I think of all the "Out of Africa" like fashion spreads I have seen, I could swear that all were inspired by one African tribe. South Africa alone happens to have 11 that I know of (and you thought I'm counting English people as an African tribe. No, it's just Afrikaners- they exist nowhere else in the world- and the Khoisan) and all differ from the other quite vastly, let alone the history that will teach one about the existance of such civilisations as Mapungubwe. Thanks to Stoned Cherrie and their collection shown at Sanlam SA Fashion Week earlier this year Mapungubwe was finally explored by fashion. South African designers could do well to explore our rich heritage and stop regurgitating the same old same old, year in year out. The Westerners should learn something from us, it's the only way we can escape being pigeonholed.

The history of SA fashion will be distorted

One day when Vogue loses the record for the biggest fashion issue ever published to some or other title they will go down in history as the ones who set the trend and such information will be available to those who will want to write about this; on the internet, in Vogue's archives as well as in film format, thanks to the documentary "The September Isuue".
Our industry here at home will also one day be well developed, yet those who will want to credit our trendsetters will battle to do this reason being our failure to document properly the goings on in our industry.
But how does the failure to document history come about?
It begins with the failure to disseminate news, because what makes the news today is what will go down in the history books; facts that can be verified in totality. The reason why the history of South Africa's indigenous people is so terribly distorted is because the culture of documenting it only occurred through verbally told stories, descending through the generations and the trouble with verbal storytelling is that, over time, the truth tends to bend; our memories have not the capacity to serve us well enough for such to be prevented.
In the interest of informing future generations of the humble beginnings of our fashion industry- and I believe this is the responsibility of all parties involved, from the designers themselves, to the PR companies that work within the industry and also the media- we should all make sure that the correct information is detailed fully in all possible forms of archiving.
As one who reports on fashion events in this country I struggle, being a new industry entrant, to find information. Designers are, for some reason, unable to communicate wholly with the industry at large, about their brands.
PR companies either communicate information way too late and there seems to be some sort of elite society one must belong to in order to find information.
That aside, where does one go to find out how the industry operated prior to fashion week? Can anyone tell me what the progress on the city of Joburg's Fashion District plan is? Has anyone ever attempted to analyse how the industry has been affected by trends outside of fashion itself? The world is intertwined, fashion is not isolated, such analysis should be done in order to understand fashion itself.
I truly believe that all parties- PR, media, designers- in our country are failing to properly preserve the legacy of South Africa's fashion industry (I think such is also the case with most art forms, to a certain degree). It would be a shame to one day read a book- written 25 years from now- about SA fashion and find it packed with undocumented history that can neither be verified as fact or fiction.
The history of Shaka Zulu and our indigenous people at large should have taught such a lesson to us a long time ago. Why do we ignore it?

Does fashion not deserve proper coverage?

I look at the New York Times and The UK Telegraph's coverage of fashion events with green eyes and envy fills me up at the thought of how well developed fashion journalism is in the US and UK.
The New York Times has a total of three regularly updated fashion blogs, with dedicated bloggers working on them and the paper's online fashion and style section is a read to die for. The same goes for the UK Telegraph; the fashion journos at these publications work hard and it shows.
I then look at The Times Live, Avusa's newly renovated online home of The Times and Sunday Times. I also look at the M&G online, South Africa's oldest online newspaper and what this year's Sanlam Fashion Journalism Award recipient Milisuthando Bongela said to me in an email interview for ifashion; "The only way the fashion industry can compete with other industries such as sports or music, is for the voices of the industry to be heard on mainstream print and broadcast media platforms," rings ever true.
How do we expect to develop an industry when the required stakeholders aren't coming to the fore? It totally baffles me how fashion week comes and goes in this country without the full support of some of the biggest news publications. That multimedia platform on The Times website should be buzzing with colourful slideshows, interviews and features around fashion week but it seems the editors of that paper couldn't be bothered.
Is politics and the stock markets all we really care about in this country?
South Africa's media industry has a lot of room to grow but the ones in the driving seat do not realise that there's a gap in the market. If they did they would be catering for the fashion loving masses in addition to the suits and hollywood gossip consumers.
Until such time that somebody up there realises this fashion journalism and the business of fashion itself will remain what many people still perceive as trivial.