‘If you want me you can catch me on your video phone’

So I’ve been watching this damn thing all day … yet I only think to blog about it before I go to bed. [Total #blogfail]. Any-beyaki, here’s the insane, beautiful, colourful, ubersexual Video Phone remix video, featuring the ever-interesting Lady Gaga.

Now my love for Mrs Hova is well-documented, so ofcourse my take on this is total stanning a bit biased… There’s just so much going on in this video. Tarantino fans (like, um, me) will get the Reservoir Dogs reference; there’s a Betty Page wig and even a little bit of M.I.A Galang flavour (am I the only person who picked that up?). But, overall, this vid is just hella sexy. Enjoy!

‘I want to be … a woman’s best friend & secret weapon’

Designer Thula Sindi

Thula Sindi – designer extraordinaire – recently let African Fashion International into his mental-mind-space…

When designing a collection, my reference/point of departure is always
clothing itself. I design “clothes about clothes”, either tweaking them by manipulating darts and panels or experimenting with fabrics and details. For this season my focus was on colour how to use it in a way that was summery and light but still modern, sophisticated and wearable especially during the day.

My latest collection is a story about a glimpse of a woman who is slightly jaded by life but still manages to be optimistic at the same time. Her taste is impeccable and every inch of her groomed in an effortless way.

The most innovative thing about my last collection are the two charcoal grey cotton knit dresses. They are meticulously draped and hand tacked and took tens of hours to create and finalise, but it resulted in effortless and unexpected beauty. It was like turning matte grey into the proverbial gold.

I understand quality in fashion to be the search for excellence in standards through the entire value chain of the garment – from design/conceptualisation, fabrication, fit and garment assembly all the way to store display, customer service and wear/care.

The next steps that I will be taking to continue my development are to grow my business organically whilst searching for outlets that fit into my business structure and style. There is lots on the go at the moment.

South African fashion design is defined by very different points of view.

I collaborate with no one really. I still have so much to say that there is no need to collaborate so early in the game. People still need to get to know who THULA SINDI is. The closest I get to collaboration is with Mary Reynolds of Tramps productions. We work really closely when it comes to producing my shows and with Martin Myers who knows how to use music to convey the emotion to the audience. They really understand my point of view.

In a tough economic climate my customers think more closely about what they are buying.

The last time I laughed really hard it was because
I explained to my assistant Bonolo that a chicken’s head (a local delicacy in Klerksdorp) is called an AYAS. She looked so appalled that I even knew that. I realised we definitely from different generations.

I want to become known as a woman’s best friend and secret weapon, offering beautiful fashion solutions and bringing real value back to designer clothing.

 

Do your thang, Miss Solangel!

Miss Solange Knowles in all her fabulosity!

We all know my love for the Knowles’ knows no bounds (phantsi haters!), so even though this here article is ancient in internets years, I still have to give Little Sis her props.  

Solange is one fiesty chick and, although not always on point, her personal style is sick (yes, that rhymes). Her music’s also quite something. Her album, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St Dreams, is a staple at my place.

In her recent interview with Honey magazine, she opens up about her music, love life and her hair. Recently, the weave-a-licious Solange chopped off all her hair, causing quite the furore. She was featured on Oprah, during a story on Chris Rock’s documentary, Good Hair. Solange – and her weave-free hair – even shot up to Twitter’s number 3 trending topic at some point. This was her reaction:

The first picture of me when I cut it off — I had no idea that there was any photography going on. I was looking like someone taking their kid to school at 7 o’clock in the morning in jeans and a top and no makeup on, no earrings, no nothing. That reaction was very harsh, very negative. I think it was the initial thought of change in someone that freaked everyone out. As a society we equate beauty with the images that have been placed in front of us since we were little kids. Every Disney movie, every fairy tale, every pop star typically has a certain aesthetic and look. I think that anytime we see something different, it freaks us out. The more people warmed up to it, and they saw more images of me with it and dressed up with my earrings and a little something, something on my face, I think then people were more willing to conform and accept it. Now, it’s interesting how the first day I had it, I had nothing but negative, evil, cruel things in my inbox and then yesterday [after Oprah aired] I had 300,000 people saying ‘Oh my God, you looked amazing, so beautiful, and you made us proud.’ People were able to hear my reasoning, which is good and bad because we should be able to just express ourselves.

(Emphasis mine).

The thing I dig most about Solange is that she’s marketed as the ‘outspoken’ Knowles sister (I have no doubt that everything that family does is orchestrated) and she embraces that role with open arms. For more gorgeous pics and quotable quotes, head over to Honey (www.honeymag.com).

You can check out Solo’s Oprah appearance right here:
Youtube clip [Sorry, didn't allow embedding]
Jezebel clip

African designers WOW NY Fashion Week

Alek Wek in Stoned Cherrie

This past Friday, four African design houses – MOMO, Stoned Cherrie, Tiffani Amber and Xuly BET – showed at New York Fashion Week as part of the first This Day/ Arise magazine African Fashion Collective.

I spent all weekend furiously googling to aggregate the blogosphere’s take on the events (unfortch Sistagirlfriend has no budget – yet – to jet off to NY at the drop of a hat!).

The show was opened by the legendary Grace Jones. Other big name models – Liya Kebede, Alek Wek, Oluchi, Tyson Beckford, Stacey McKenzie, Chanel Iman – worked the runway, looking spectacular in the best African designs.

According to the New York Times:

For Nkhensani Nkosi, the founder of the South African label Stoned Cherrie, African fashion has been signified by “the Big Five and leopard prints” for too long.
What, she suggested, of the Africa of Malik Sidibe, the much-lauded Malian studio photographer whose images of young people in Bamako in the 1950s and 1960s are a mine of late 20th century African style? What of the Africa of Papa Wemba, the Congolese musician famed for having created SAPE (Société Ambianceurs et Persons Élégants), a movement that made a cult of designer dressing and slyly subverted European notions of African style by adding the raffia skirts and cowrie shell hats of rural rustics to his crisp onstage uniform of Versace and Cerruti suits? “There is so much urban energy right now,” she said, “waiting to be bottled and sold.”
“Africa still trying to get its head above water,” said Lamine Kouyate, a Malian designer better known by the pseudonym Xuly Bet . “One problem for us is that we don’t have media talking about this African energy, this sophistication. All anyone is obsessed about is disease and what’s going wrong.”
For at least a half-hour, there was the sense that western fashion might finally move toward integrating itself with the larger world.

The Telegraph framed the show around the new Obama era:

The designs were modelled by a United Nations roll-call of girls from more than a dozen countries, including Ethiopia, Namibia, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Russia, China and the Netherlands, along with Tyson Beckford, the most celebrated black American male model, and the black catwalk superstars, Alek Wek, from Sudan, and Chanel Iman.
Xuly Bet showed contemporary sportswear in denim and corduroy and T-shirt dresses printed with President Obama’s face.
Tiffany Amber’s collection featured silk shantung and traditional ‘Ankara’ fabrics, with intricate shell and bead embroidery.
Alek Wek closed Nkosi’s Stoned Cherrie collection in a shadow-dyed, burnt orange-to-earth toned, silk chiffon gown with an elaborate, jewelled collar. Zebra, leopard, giraffe and snake patterns, printed on hand-woven taffeta, cashmere and metallic silk, in shades of pewter and gold, were the feature of Asibelua’s Momo collection.

Black Voices’ take:

All showed exquisite, tailored designs with ethnic accents and details. The show was quite impressive from the front row guests – Ryan Leslie, Chrisette Michele, Calvin Pace of the New York Jets, newsanchor Sade Baderinwa and model agency owner Bethann Hadison, to the models who walked-Estee Lauder model Liya Kebede opened, Italian Vogue covermodel Sessilee Lopez, Chanel Iman, Liya Kebede, Victoria’s Secret Oluchi, Alek Wek, Tyson Beckford and Jamaican model-turned-runway coach Stacey Mackenzie did a return to the tents. The afterparty was swanky with a fab performance by Solange Knowles at The Plaza Hotel. To quote CNN correspondent Lola Ogunnaike there, “Äfrica is the new Black. We’re major.” And it showed.

And here’s some reaction from the blogosphere:
Lavish Mag Blog:

Stoned Cherrie’s tribute to Miriam Makeba had viewers singing in their seats. Her pieces were pumped with color, and featured wonderfully crafted jacquard coats, cigarette pants and funky but functional pencil skirts. Very feminine, flowing, and exciting to watch from the first whispy blouson sleeved shirt, to the graceful ombré dress worn on Alex Wek.

Second City Style:

Similarly feminine with luscious colors, Stoned Cherrie’s billowy tops and ruffles were interspersed with slim, tailored pants and high-waistlines, bringing back a bold new version of the 1970’s girl-about-the-office.

Pic via.

Things you don’t know about Mbali …

Me (left) and Mbali (right)

1. Mbali Soga’s recently been appointed True Love’s fashion editor

2. She’s camera-shy.

3. She was once a synchronized swimmer.

… Africans in New York …

Nkhensani Nkosi (courtesy of www.stonedcherrie.co.za)

Halala! South African label Stoned Cherrie - run by the ever glam and gracious Nkhensani Nkosi* – is set to show at New York Fashion Week on 13 Feb!

Stoned Cherrie, along with Xuly Bet (Mali/ Paris), Tiffany Amber (Nigeria) and MOMO (Nigeria), will show as part of the inaugural This Day/ Arise Magazine** African Fashion Collective Show at Bryant Park.

‘I’m incredibly excited about this opportunity. I’ve always dreamt about having this kind of platform for Stoned Cherrie and it launches us directly onto a world stage,’ says Nkhensani.
‘It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase the amazing things happening in South Africa. People continue to have a stereotypical view of Africa as the ‘Dark Continent’ and it will be great to challenge that.’

Other Africans representing – Jan Malan is coordinating the show, Dino Moran will be handling the tunes and the most recent Face of Africa, Ghana’s Kate Menson, will be sashaying down the runway.

* For more on the woman behind the brand, cop the latest edition of True Love mag – I wrote the beautiful profile on her and husband Zam.
** Arise Magazine is super fab. Received a copy at last week’s Audi JHB Fashion Week and it’s mind blowing. Will scan a few piccies soonish.

Audi JHB Fashion Week Part1

Simona Ferrari: This is pure hotness

Audi Joburg Fashion Week kicked off yesterday with some new | fresh | young | unsullied | original designers. I’m not going to spoil your enjoyment of the clothes with some lofty descriptions and pop culture references, I’m just gonna post some pretty, pretty pics.

Simona Ferrari’s collection was fantastic. This young lady has sexy on lock down. Enjoyed her entire collection. I’m sure this is a name we’re going to hear a lot of in the future.

Simona Ferrari: Miss SA Tatum Keshwar is so great on the runway.

Simona Ferrari: Loved the urban warrior/ gladiator look

Simona Ferrari: I am warrior. Hear me roar.

The triumphant designer on the left and a beautiful model on the right..

Two other talented young ‘uns showed during the New Gen show – Batya Bouzaglou and Taibo Bacar. Here are the pieces I most loved from their collections:

Batya Bouzaglou: I need these pants! (Now where did I put my gym membership card?)

Taibo Bacar: Wow!

Pics via.

Radical | Fashionable | Beautiful

If you love art, fashion, photography and urban pop culture, here’s a name to remember: Nontsikelelo Veleko.

Lolo, as she’s called, is the 2008 Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year award winner – only the second photographer to have won the prestigious prize. A stalwart of local pop culture, she’s made a name for herself by photographing the edgy fashion stylings of South African youth. She’s earned international recognition for her radical take on identity in her series of street fashion portraits titled ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ and is gaining in visibility on the local front too.

Here’s some of what makes her work so special…

What is the international reaction to your work?
When I thought that my work wasn’t well received here I thought it would be the same over there. But overseas they really enjoyed my work. What they’d seen up until then was mostly focused on apartheid and they didn’t really see what’s happening in contemporary South Africa. I show them what South Africa is like, I make contemporary art.

You focus a lot on issues of identity. Will you continue with this, or are you moving on?
I’m still doing this. We’re constantly redefining ourselves as South Africans, not just black or white. This process is still happening all the time on a national and personal level. It’s still an issue for me and South Africa and for me inside of South Africa. I mean, we have 11 official languages, there’s a lot to tackle, there’s a lot of influences, from the East and West.

Why use clothes as an entry into this debate?
We all enjoy clothes. The SA fashion industry is big right now, everyone wants to be a designer, but I’m surprised that people don’t understand where identity fits into this. If you look at John Galliano and his Scottish themes in his designs and the way he uses all the tribes, he understands the history of the places, and he puts that history on the ramp. It’s interesting that someone from a mixed heritage questions this. I think it comes from our apartheid past and we’re still working through our own stuff.

Where do you find your subjects, especially for Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?
Most of the subjects are from Cape Town. My memories of Cape Town that everyone’s so individualistic in their style. I remember everyone had their own style and people would be outdoing each other. I really yearn for those days. The problem right now is that people are copying each other. Initially, it was a challenge finding people in Johannesburg. I’d find someone, take a picture and then wait three months before I’d find someone else to photograph. It really taught me patience. I’m going to Durban and Bloemfontein next to look for subjects.

How do you convince them to be part of your work?
It’s not even about my picture, it’s about them. It’s their picture, so I have to find out how they want to be represented. Some amazing people have said ‘no’ to being photographed. but it is some kind of collaboration between us. Sometimes you meet people and they’re running somewhere, so you have to set up an interview, make appointments. I respect their time, there are some who have more time, so you can just point and shoot.

Are you happy with the body of work you’ve accumulated thus far?
I’ll never be happy. I wish I had a constant built in eye camera; sometimes I’m not prepared and I wish I had a camera with me. But also sometimes it’s important to take a break because I’m always working with people. For me it’s not about money. Most of our history, as Africans, has been wiped out and this is something that’s rebuilding that. I can show my great grandchildren – I had this life, show them the work I did and the work of my peers. This is bigger than us. I don’t take anything for granted, I experience everything – I go to music shows, exhibitions, theatre, just everything.

You’ve had extremely positive reviews. Some American reviewers, though, seemed to be surprised by how we dress in South Africa. What was the reaction like at the actual exhibitions?
Americans are my favourite people to get upset with. They’re always asking, ‘where are the animal skins’. It’s ridiculous! Whenever they’re here, we have to take them to Sandton to see that we’re a modern city. They still expect us to be in animal skins. But then again, even the Europeans are naïve. It’s time to educate the world, but we have to do it with love and take our time. I mean, just the fact that we have 11 official languages shows that we’re culturally richer than many other places.