Glitz and Glam at SA Fashion Week

It is every fashionista’s dream to attend fashion week. Due to our delayed planning we missed our chance to get tickets to South African Fashion Week (SAFW) Autumn/Winter 2014 from the 3-5 October. Revlon being the official make up partner of SAFW was running a Superlustrous lip-gloss competition where you could win tickets to the event. All you had to do was post a pic of your Superlustrous lips and desperate to feed our fashion passion of course we entered. Much to our surprise, Revlon SA made our dreams come true when we were informed that we won double tickets a few hours before the evening shows on 5 October! Yaaaaiiii!!!

Okay, but before we go further let us give you a brief little background on SAFW as extracted from their website. “Launched in 1996, SA Fashion Week is South Africa’s longest standing industry event that provides local designers or brands a platform to launch their latest collections to buyers and the media in runway shows. Two seasonal events are held annually in Johannesburg to introduce the Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter Collections of a given year SA Fashion Week’s vision is to contribute to the development of an economically robust designer industry and to encourage the South African consumer’s patronage of local designer.”

Beaming with excitement from head to toe we attacked our cupboards to try and dig out something to wear. I mean it goes without say you got to be dressed to the nines when attending fashion week right? After much deliberation we dolled up and made our way to the chic venue The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosebank.

Upon arrival we were greeted by the friendly Revlon staff who escorted us to our own private chill area in the trendy and stylish Circle Bar in the Crowne Plaza. Here we were treated to Champagne or drinks of our choice from the bar, appetizing finger snacks and the most delicious cupcakes. We were really treated like VIP’s with the Revlon and Ogilvy representatives doting on our every need. 

The Crowne Plaza foyer was buzzing with media, designers, design students and fashion crazed attendees. TRESemmé had a pop up stand where they were giving out TRESemmé products. Revlon also featured a pop up make up studio where anyone attending the event could get a mini make over done or just explore some of the Revlon products.  Of course we couldn’t resist and the lovely make up artists turned us into starlets. We have to admit that we are seriously in love with the photo ready eyeshadow’s and the Super lustrous lip-gloss.

The runway shows were split into two segments. In the first session we were treated to designers Kottin & Twille and Sober. The Kottin & Twille collection featured simple, sophisticated but fun easy to wear outfits in a variety of fabrics including leather, silks and knits. The collection was very feminine with a touch masculinity which gave it an extra edge. We loved the styling in which each piece was paired with a pair of hunter boots but mostly we loved the fact that every single look show cased was definitely something one could wear.

Kotynn &Twille was followed by Sober. The words that come to mind to describe this collection include glitz and glam. Sober’s collection was feminine and featured dresses, skirts, blouses and jackets in shimmery tartan, satin and chiffon. The overall look was sophisticated and chic and again definitely wearable.

The next set of shows was by Loxion Kulca, Narainsamy & Sons and Ephymol. The Loxion Kulca collection featured tailored modern, edgy totally wearable street wear designs for both males and females. The male collection featured a variety of styles of pants and tailored jackets/coats but with a retro twist while the female’s collection was edgy and sparkly.

Narainsamy followed Luxion Kulca with their suit collection for males, Talk about impeccable tailoring. We adored the super stylish and flattering designs and most of all the  orange centered color palette, so warm and delicious. Ephymol closed the SAFW run way shows with a striking collection for men. Featuring a number of smart casual looks in a variety of colours and textiles the collection was tailored, contemporary and fun.

All in all we had a stunning time at SAFW Autumn/Winter 14 and are looking forward to the Summer/Spring version next year. A big thank you goes to Revlon SA and Michelle from Ogilvy for making this night possible, for treating us like VIP’s and making this night one for the memory books.