As of late I have decided to embrace my artistic and crazy side and that is why I have been attending all these. Nowadays I am all things fashion, music and art. On the 28th of September a friend and I took to Constitutional Hill in Hillbrow to attend Str Crd 2013 and I must say that I was wowed.
That was one of the few places where I felt at ease because everyone is jus so different in an interesting way. Music and fashion never fail to bring people from different backgrounds together, and then you realise that you and the next person are not so different after all. The differences are just in your head.
A lot of fashion brands had pop-up shops by the basement parking of Con Hill and the include but are not limited to “Magents”, “Swede & Crowe”, Butan Spaza, Zaba Lazaa, Top Shop & Top Man, Joburg City Denim, Style Archtectz, Trapstar, Blackfaff and Moscot.
I love the boxes that the ‘Magents’ sneakers come in, the boxes look like match boxes and I must commend them for the creativity. They had pretty dope sneakers though I could not spot women sneaker, but then again there are ‘Magents’as the name suggest. How about we have a sneaker range for ‘Macheri’ ? Well just a suggestion to ‘Magents’ coz I love them that much.
‘Swede & Crowe’ had very nice capes and their pop-up shop décor was amazing. I couldn’t help but notice a very pimped up skateboard, I seriously wanted to buy it.
‘Butan Spaza’ took me back to ekasi because the pop-up shop literally looked Like a spaza. If you have been to a township then u will understand. I guess décor an image is everything. You gotta make your customers fell like they really are in a spaza shop. The T-shirt, sweaters and caps were hung all around the Spaza shop.
‘Zaba lazaa’ not only had clothes, but it also had books and toys. I guess their approach was to not have fashionable peeps but to have book-smart and playful fashionistas. As a bookworm myself I totally agree with that concept. I can’t recall the name of the guy I talked to but he pointed out that ‘Joburgers’ or ‘Gautengers’ if you will do not read a lot compared to Cape town where he is from and I think it’s very true. As ‘Joburgers’ we live very fast lives and we generally do not get the time to read.
‘Top Shop’ & ‘Top Man’ had a very interesting way of presenting their ranges. They had models posing as statues and yes I was fooled at first because I really believed that they were statues. Their clothes though! I really loved them. I need to get myself a couple of outfits.
I don’t think anyone has ever made denim look so good to me before until I saw the ‘Joburg City Denim’ shop. The group of young people don not only design but they also make the clothes themselves. They clothes are handmade and hand stitched. Judging from the look of the clothes you wouldn’t say that they were hand stitched, they look proper.
‘Trapstar’ an international brand was also on display at the British Council stand. I saw the dopest caps and its a pity there we not for sale. For now there are just testing the South African market. I have no doubt in my mind that they will sell like hot cakes in S A.
‘Blackfaff’ had beautiful and varied All Stars. My personal favourites are the studded ones and I love the fact that you can have your sneakers custom designed and made for you. It is always nice if you are given a chance to choose how anything of yours should be designed. It’s like when you go to a restaurant and they give u a choice to design you pizza. I always love it.
‘Moscot’ went vintage and brought the old or vintage briefcases if you will. They took me back to an Era I wish to have lived in. In other world I would have loved to have the good old briefcase as the carrier of my belongings. I think I am going to invest in a ‘Moscot’ briefcase. They also had sunglasses. I think everyone should have a pair of sunglasses, not only for fashion but to protect your eyes against the harsh African summer sun. And Yes I am a doctor too. Hahahahahahahaha………………………………………
Afrikan Princess 