SA Fashion Week designers prioritise calm, comfort, colour in latest collections
Just under a year ago, high-end and couture garments dominated runways across the fashion capitals of the world. But the Covid-19 pandemic, which has spread to every corner of the globe, has revolutionised the industry and forced designers to adjust to the new realities imposed by the global health crisis. This has resulted in comfort and informal styles being prioritised over bold and aesthetic heavy pieces.
South African Fashion Week (SAFW)’s latest ‘Twenty Twenty Collections,’ which debuted on Johannesburg catwalk last week was a reflection of this new world-wide trend as many of the designers injected calm, colour and solace into an uncertain and anxious world.
For the first time in its history, the local fashion offerings also took a virtual route as proceedings were forced online in a bid to comply with lockdown regulations. During the three day groundbreaking fashion event, 27 digital runway shows were streamed to fashionistas who had to swap their front row seats and a fashionable night out for time in front of their laptop screens.
Despite these restrictions, a variety of design elements, textures and tones took shape on the digital catwalk and while some of the ranges were in line with those seen on international runways, many were uniquely African in nature, firmly placing the continent as an authentic fashion destination.
These are some of the trends which dominated the SAFW ‘Twenty Twenty Collections.’
Comfort and casual
A key feature of the new world fashion order has been relaxed yet stylish ensembles. While this was largely present in most of the latest SAFW offerings, many designers also used their creative licence to implement the in vogue trend in a variety of different garments.
Helon Melon opted for loose fitting dresses of various lengths and sleeve styles suitable for day-to day living while Judith Atelier took a bolder route by showcasing the trend for her work and evening wear. She even added a relaxed and lackadaisical off-the shoulder element to her tops and dresses while Ekta brought a taste of the East with loose-fitting, draped and bright coloured attire.
Colour
While the common trend amongst the local designers was comfortable wear, the use of colour was something most of them differed on. Gert Johan-Coetzee’s entire new collection featured a mix of monochrome and a contrast of sky blue but The Research Unit solely relied upon neutral tones of beige, grey, black and white.
Meanwhile, Rubicon was more strategic with her use of colour as she anchored solid shades with deep and captivating tones of plum and turquoise.
Layering
As the SAFW Twenty Twenty Collections,’ was for the first time trans-seasonal, it offered consumers increasing value as many of the garments can be enjoyed through-out the year. The effectiveness of this was carried out through This was largely achieved through effective layering, which Maklele perfected.
He paired high quality, round neck short sleeves with blazers, suspenders and accessories. Naked Ape echoed this sentiment but instead took the unconventional yet trendy route of pairing streetwear items such as hoodies with formal pieces like form fitting jackets. The comfort factor again resonated as most of these looks were put together with sandals and sneakers instead of conventional formal footwear. Chiefs of Angels predominantly opted for in vogue black looks which ranged from layers of streetwear to night time and office looks.