His Closet “Our Closet”
SA Menswear Week is putting African menswear designers on the international map. First of its kind in Africa it is surely going to encourage more young designers to get into designing for men as there are already a whole lot of womenswear fashion designers. Designers from Nigerian, South Africa, Tanzania, Angola and Zimbabwe presented the best of their collections at SA Menswear Week in Cape Town.
I am so excited and I am looking forward to see SA Menswear Week grow and to see more Africa designers take part.
There are obvious designers that I follow who always bring their best to the table. I always love seeing Rich Mnisi’s collection and I never run out of imagining ways I would rock certain pieces ( Yes I love menswear)
Rich Mnisi
I love how Rich used his colours. The Orange, navy, blacks and the whites blended in together so well. It’s the easy to put on and take off outfits that got me going. So free flowing I could definitely see myself in all those pieces ( altered of course). My favourite item was the orange leather sleeveless jacket ( there might be a more appropriate technical term for it). Also the light coats are a super win for me. Who says you can’t wear coats in spring and summer?
Lukhanyo Mdingi
Lukhanyo stuck to Navy blue and I must say that it looked amazing. His use of chiffon and silk is a different and a much welcome perspective of the overly masculine man. My favourite item is the jumpsuit that I will rock with a bright pair of heels.
Martin Kadinda
Nothing wrong will a little bit of formal. I love how Martin played around with his colours, nothing was too much the bright were not too bright and dark not too dark. Of course this is for the dapper gentlemen who like to dress up and look good and still look relaxed and laid back. Would I suit up? Of course I will. that Maroon suit (it could be another colour, magenta or red, who knows) would look absolutely great on me. Maybe I could take it further and rock a bow-tie.
Projecto Mental
One look at the set then I knew that something amazing was about to happen. A man who wear Projecto Mental is a kind of man who is ready for anything. His boys can call him up for a drink and he would leave the office and head straight to the club without change. I feel like this collection was simple, comfortable and really trendy. I love the pop of colour that comes in here and there among the grey, it just blends so well together.
Imprints By Mzukisi Mbane
Imprints By Mzukisi took me to a very cool summer day at a beach somewhere in Africa enjoying a cold refreshment while looking on as some eye candy struts around. The choice of prints chosen are so rich and an eye catcher ( also the models were super fine if I might add). This collection made me miss spring even more. I love the accessories: the oversize straw hats, the neck pieces made from all sorts of interesting things.
Julia Mpoko
I love the simplicity of Julia Mpoko’s collection. Its for a chilled guy who loves looking good but he still wants to feel comfortable in his clothes. The contrasts between white, navy blue and green got me all excited (as a visual being, that was a total visualgasm for me)
Kola Kuddus
An Eastern inspired collection from Kola Kuddus. I loved the colours, the material and the complementing scandals. The head gear was also on point.
Orange Culture
Obvioulsy this collection is for the man who is not afraid to be different. In fact he lives on being different, what I would like to call “Expressing his softer side”.
Simon Deporres
For the cool and laid back gentleman.
All photos by SDR Photo http://ramp.sdr.co.za/