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Two Johannesburg fashion weeks later and following the opening of giant retailer Top Shop in Sandton, South African fashion needs more than ever to prove its talent and its ability to be a sustainable, commercial and yet inspiring business.

For those of you who still believe that fashion is a flimsy, frivolous concept hidden behind heavy price tags – admittedly, it can be – or tucked in the vituperative comments of an ever-ready to offend Joan Rivers – which it sometimes is – think twice; fashion is a business unashamedly flirting with millions of dollars, prodigious craft and Haute Couture, respected brands and the addictive laws of regular fashion weeks and ready-to-wear retail.

In South Africa, the catwalk calendar is slightly confused, split between the flamboyant, show-off, well-exposed Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa and the more understated, avant-garde and selective SA Fashion Week; two different owners, two different stories, picture David and Goliath perched on Louboutin heels and you have the idea.

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa, led by the Executive Chairperson of African Fashion International (AFI), Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, is sponsored by the German car maker, the main backer of the international northern hemisphere’s fashion weeks; it wishes to play in the big four league, and it opens its catwalk to other designers from the African continent and the diaspora.

It is as necessary as it is ostentatious: necessary because it has the means and power to bring South Africa on the exclusive and elitist fashion map. Dr. Moloi-Motsepe was recently invited to the Herald Tribune Luxury Conference, along the likes of (drumrolls please), Donatella Versace, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Manolo Blahnik (the man whose hands create vertiginous heels) Vivienne Westwood and Franca Sozzani (Vogue Italia Editor-in-Chief). Moloi-Motsepe to “offer a home-grown African perspective” on the “continent’s luxury offering”. Yet means and power never made elegance,Cheap Moncler Coats outlet we offer,cheap monster beats headphones Sale Store. and for all Dr. Moloi-Motsepe's magnetic and stylish personality, the ranges presented at the MBFWA often, but not always, lack savoir-faire, attention to detail, storytelling and coherence; the balance is yet to be found between flamboyance and substance.

Interestingly, Scott Schuman - the New Yorker behind the Sartorialist, famous for his street style snapshots - who was invited by Mercedes-Benz to cover the Johannesburg MBFWA, recently commented in the Women’s Wear Daily: “Johannesburg reminds me of a lot of cities,All Kinds of Castelli Cycling Jerseys. like Moscow,View the latest moncler jackets for sale and Purses online at Bag Borrow or Steal. Buenos Aires and in Poland, places that had some kind of political or economic difficulty, or they were a communist country for a long time... A lot of the women here are very beautiful, very perfect in every way, but it lacks a certain amount of charm. It’s almost aggressive...”

A sad statement, certainly, as South Africa doesn’t have a shortage of creative and talented designers and inspired and inspiring fashionistas; yet the gap between the marketing and PR efforts unfurled at the fashion week and the actual designs presented on the catwalk can explain one’s disappointment. For all its noise, it still misses the true essence of local fashioning.

On the other hand, SA Fashion Week seems to emerge as a smaller player under the international fashion spotlight, but its unswerving attempts to show selected local designers are critical; Lucilla Booyzen, director of SA Fashion Week, focuses on the collections, making sure that what is presented matches international standards,Find all you need to know about SKY Cycling and learn the latest cycling tips and techniques. that the stories told are coherent, the garments’ finishes painstaking and the collections not only saleable but wearable. Thirty-three designers with their very own identity, not the loudest and wildest and not all of them successful at pulling off a desirable collection, but definitely tomorrow’s possible fashion makers; what the show lacks in marketing muscle, it compensates in quality.

For this reason, the Daily Maverick decided to skim through the sleeker ranges presented at the SA Fashion Week to establish what tomorrow’s trends would be in the kingdom of South African fashion. Not an easy task, though, as the designers face many challenges to create their collections. Still, a savant mix of ingenious creativity and defiance of obstacles gives rise to more than few strong styles.

If there is one characteristic Africa is known for, it is its marvellous, unlimited ability to reinvent, facelift and customise objects. This season, (Autumn/Winter 2013), South African designers didn’t disappoint, with garments made from elaborate combinations of fabrics, revisited patterns and styles and clever dyeing techniques.

The result? Zano Sithetho for Skorzch über-tailored jackets, waistcoat and pants revisiting vintage aesthetic à la Al Capone in bold and vivid colours; Craig Jacobs’ reinvention of the fish net fabric for his Fundudzi collection, stretched up to the model’s head, obvious in bright blue or hidden underneath a white sleeveless top; it is a concerto of originality.

Playing with their scissors, designers cut fabrics with the precision of goldsmiths. Black Coffee’s geometrical incisions, patterns straight from the window of a gothic cathedral, bring depth to the garments; Bianca Warren’s perforations, very similar to broderie anglaise,Wonderful Gucci handbags collection: Garmin Cycling and discount Gucci handbags by Styledrops. give a girly touch to the range. Naked Ape collaboration with Merweline van der Merwe was all about vertical cuts following the bodyline and cleverly highlighting the bright linings.