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 :(

New York Fashion Week - Fall 2014 Favourites

(New York) Fashion Week is always an exciting event for all the fashion lovers around the world; attendees, wanna-be attendees, designers and models alike. Hopefully, I'll be among the attendees one day, using my own photographs for such blog posts, but until then, style.com and vogue.com will have to do.

My top four collections from this season were 3.1 Phillip Lim, DKNY, Jenny Packham and Gucci. Firstly, I must mention that I just loooooove Fall/Winter fashion because of the majority of darker colours - 99% of my closet is made up of black or somewhat black shoes and clothing. (I do think I have a problem though, which I realised upon packing for my recent trip to Cape Town. Of the six pairs of shoes I took, five were black. I returned home with a new pair, and needless to say, they too, were black.) With this newfound information, it's a litte ironic that my favourite collections have more colour than the general fall/winter collections. Hey, maybe there's hope for me after all!

Phillip Lim's collection was inspired by his imaginary muse, "Soleil — a fun and culturally curious woman. Her world is somewhere between instant pop and culture.” It's ironic considering that this is a fall/winter collection, and Soleil means 'sun' in French. Anyway, I really adore the pastels and glitter contrasted with black. It's a case of the best of both worlds, which I should probably make a few mental notes of. This 'Soleil' could teach me a thing or two.

3.1 Phillip Lim - Fall 2014 by kenzolm on Polyvore

It was love at first sight for DKNY and I this time, as I die for leather anything (faux, of course - I'm vegetarian.) The same goes for the fur, which looks dynamite with leather! The urban New York streets definitely made their mark, with the sort of I-just-threw-this-on, it-doesn't-fit-but-it-fits and still very chic fashion - tumblr, eat your heart out! If I could, I'd buy the pieces pronto, starting with those leather pants. *insert googly eyes here*

DKNY - Fall 2014 by kenzolm on Polyvore

Jenny Packham was stunning as usual, and very glamourous with intricate beading and dreamy colours. It's a sort of blasé evening wear; the whole glittery sweaters with full taffeta skirts and pockets. (Who doesn't love skirts with pockets?!) The collection was so sophisticated, and I feel like with any of these pieces, it would take very minimal effort to get a very elegant look. Très chic, all round.

Jenny Packham - Fall 2014 by kenzolm on Polyvore

Gucci, Gucci, Gucci... This collection had my mother and I just ooh-ing and ah-ing at this jacket, and that coat, and that print, and those boots. Honestly, this was my absolute favourite collection from this season, and one for the woman who knows what she wants and knows how to get it. Creative director, Giannini, described the Gucci woman as a woman who “dresses to please herself rather than others.” The clean cuts and boyish tailoring paired with pretty, dusty pastels and fierce animal print made that statement all on their own. This is very nearly how I picture my future closet... I'll be dreaming of these pieces for a while!

Gucci - Fall 2014 by kenzolm on Polyvore

xo,

Mr. Photographer | Davide Zanoni

During one of my recent Internet escapades, I came across a brilliant man by the name of Davide Zanoni. He is an Italian photographer who takes the most gorgeous photos. Although his primary focus is wedding and documentary photography, he recently went backstage at Milan Fashion Week to take a few snaps to let us in on the glamorous world that is fashion.

I first saw these photos a while ago, but somehow I just couldn't seem to get them out of my mind. Whether it's the intimate take he has on photography or simply his eye for a good photo, it all comes together in a sort of nostalgia and holds so true to the saying we all know so well: 

"A picture is worth a thousand words."

And with that overly excited introduction, you can take a look at that the photos below knowing good and well that I truly love these pictures. If you're just as enthusiastic as I am and would like to see more of Zanoni's work, you can check him out here.

(image source: VSCO Journal)

I hope you've all had a good week so far. For most of us South Africans, holidays have become but a distant memory as we all return to the daily grind. I've got a number of things planned for the blog, starting with the change of layout which should be pretty evident if you've been reading for a while. (You like?) I'll also be partnering up with some IFB and Lucky Magazine bloggers for a new post, which is very exciting! For me, at least...

xo,