SA’s top design talent was on display yet again at SA Fashion Week last week. Buyers, bloggers and fashionistas all marvelled over the fashion and grand setup at Sandton City, Johannesburg. SA Fashion Week really is a world class production and a wonderful place for local designer to showcase their collections to come for Spring/Summer 2019. Unlike other places in the world, the public can also attend the shows, so be sure to get your tickets next season.
The Equilibrio team attended all the women’s collections at SA Fashion Week. Here are the trends we spotted for the season ahead:
HEAD-TO-TOE-RED
Red is a big international trend and has been around for one season already. This trend is bold but easy to pull off. Everyone has a favourite shade of red. Perhaps it is time to find yours.
Left to right: Erre, Mantsho, Thebe Magugu, Isabel de Villiers
PANTS SUITS
This is also a trend that’s been big world-wide, in a way supporting the gender-neutral movement. Suits can be worn tailored or slightly oversized, and pair them with sky high heels or boyish sneakers.
Left to right: Thebe Magugu, Mmuso Maxwell, Gert-Johan Coetzee, Mmuso Maxwell
CORAL & BURNT ORANGE
One of the biggest trends at this season’s SA Fashion Week was coral and orange. It is not surprising since Living Coral is the Pantone colour of the year. Orange can be a tricky colour to pull off. Find your shade and introduce it as an accent colour rather than a head-to-toe shade.
Left to right: Erre, Amanda Laird Cherry, African Style Story, Isabel de Villiers
FLOPPY HATS
Want to know what hat to wear on your next beach holiday? We saw floppy hats (similar to a cricket hat or perhaps a gardening hat) at many of the shows. Be sure to match it to your outfit.
Left to right: Amanda Laird Cherry, Thebe Magugu, SELFI, SELFI
LILAC & LAVENDER
As predicted by Equilibrio, this 80’s hue is back! Also seen on international runways like Marc Jacobs. We saw lots of light purple on the SA Fashion Week runway, a colour that suits many different skin tones.
(RELATED POST: These 80’s bridesmaid dress colours are huge!)
Left to right: Judith Atelier, Mmuso Maxwell, Thebe Magugu, African Style Story
BEIGE-ON-BEIGE
Also a trend for winter, we saw various shades of neutrals layered over each other for summer. This is not the easiest trend to pull off. Use a shade that suits you between cream and camel and wear it layered from head-to-toe.
Left to right: Lunar, Helon Melon, SELFI, Clive Rundle
BLACK IS BACK
I guess black will always be around. But we saw more black than at recent Spring/Summer shows. No complaints here! It remains one of the staples of a lazy dresser like me. Wear your black outfit with tons of texture and bold shapes to make a statement.
Left to right: Isabel de Villiers, Mantsho, Clive Rundle, Erre
(RELATED POST: Trendspotting at SA Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2019)
All the above images are by Eunice Driver from Eunice Driver Photography for SA Fashion Week.
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I see a lot of fringe, pleats and solid colors. I’m so enjoying florals and prints at the moment – so is that all done and dusted?
Hi Hermien! Thanks for the observation. I think florals will always be present during the Spring/Summer season but we didn’t see much of them on the runway at SA Fashion Week last week. It seems to be notoriously hard for SA designers to get their hands on these finds on fabrics.
P.S. Also look out for designers like African Style Story that design and print their own fabrics.
@Michelle Doyle – Thanks, I will have a look out for them! The video’s are great!
Thank you!