MBFWA: Aimee Song & The AFI Fastrack

image c/o Foyin

Last week was a ridiculously long and crazy busy week for me with school and other things, and by the time Friday came along, I was 110% done with life. My plan for the weekend was to sleep and watch countless series, but that all changed on Friday morning as a result of the greatest news I was in such desperate need of hearing - I would be meeting Aimee Song (creative genius behind Song of Style and 3rd most followed Fashion Instagrammer) and attending the AFI Fastrack show at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Africa the next day, courtesy of Raya Rossi and Sunglass Hut SA who hosted the competition, and most of all, my dear blogger friend,  Foyin of DearSolo (pictured with me above), who won and invited me as her plus one.

MEETING AIMEE

Now, I try to act like calm, cool and collected with most things, but when getting ready on Saturday morning, I was a ball of nerves, and to make matters worse, my hair wouldn't sit right (hence the cap I wore), my nail polish smudged twice, and my shaky hands produced the most uneven winged eyeliner EVER. Who knew Aimee Song would have such an effect on me? When we finally did meet her, after complimentary lime and lemonades at the Sunglass Hut VIP Lounge, she was so sweet and friendly and carried the conversation like we were old friends catching up. She poured out complements to myself and Foyin - sort of a big deal coming from her - and by then all my anxiety had vanished (thank God!) A while later, we joined her for a quirky photo at the Instastation inside the lounge, and briefly met her sister Dani before they took of.

It was honestly such a great experience, and really humbling in that despite their many successes in the blogging/fashion industry, both Aimee and Dani were still so normal and chilled in person. Not to mention that they both liked and commented, (Dani even re-posted a picture of mine) on my Instagram photos that I posted with/of them. Definitely a major moment in my little blogger life!

THE SHOW

left to right: Tuelo Nguyuza, Nazneen Kagee, Rich Mnisi, Jessica Ross - images c/o SDR

Now let's talk about the actual show I watched, the AFI Fastrack (made up of the 4 finalists - Tuelo Nguyuza, Nazneen Kagee, Rich Mnisi and Jessica Ross). My personal favourites were Rich Mnisi, who won the young designer of the year award at the AFI awards on Sunday night, and Tuelo Nguyuza.

Mnisi presented a stunning sport luxe collection inspired by nature. Prints included what looked like grey with bleached branch-like streaks and brown and gold wooden textures. The models were super fierce as they walked down carrying tennis racquets and skateboards, or wearing boxing gloves and sneakers. For the finale, they ran down the ramp in a sort of 'suicide' fashion. Very cool.

Nguyuza's collection fully took on the "orange is the new black" theory , consisting of bright oranges and salmons. His use of straight lines and elongated baseball jackets also hinted at the whole sport chic vibe - an overall feminine and trend conscious collection with a sporty and boyish touch.

RATCHET CHIC (POST SHOW)

After the show, Foyin and I met up with our friend and my twin (namesake) Khensani of Glitter Daiquiri, as well as some of her friends. We messed about and took a bunch of photos, as teenage girls do, which went from pictures of our outfits and street style to group photos pulling gang signs - we call it "ratchet chic". It's honestly the best to have friends who have blogs too, and know your needs when it comes to outfit pictures, and so you don't get embarrassed when having mini photoshoots in the middle of a walkway while people watch you strutting your stuff to get that perfect action shot.

BOGART cap | MR. PRICE boxy top | ZARA skort | TOPSHOP shoes, bag | SWATCH watch | H&M rings

I had such a great time and can't wait to attend another Mercedes Benz Fashion Week next year. It's so exciting to see international brands and influencers taking notice of African fashion and actually getting involved. African fashion and talent is on the rise people, don't sleep on us!
PS. Apologies for the unplanned hiatus - I fell into a dark pit of creative block, then my laptop crashed :(