Coming Soon: The Second South African Menswear Week in Cape Town

Jenevieve Lyons, SAMW

The second South African Menswear Week (SAMW) will take place in Cape Town, South Africa over four days from Wednesday, 01 July to Saturday, 04 July 2015.   Following from the hugely successful inaugural event held at the beginning of February 2015 at the V&A Waterfront, the second event looks to build on the foundations of the first. SAMW is the only men’s focussed fashion platform in Africa, showcasing four days of menswear on the runway. This second event features even more  collections, showcasing the best of over 25 leading and most sought after menswear designers in Africa.

Naked Ape, SAMW

SAMW is a biannual event, with this second installment taking place in July to showcase the Spring/Summer (SS16) collections.  SAMW was initiated to celebrate the creative and commercial importance of South Africa and Africa’s menswear industry.  The February collections were considered a ground breaking event within South Africa’s fashion industry, firmly establishing the platform as the go-to, must show fashion week platform in Africa for menswear designers.

Augustine, SAMW

The line-up for the fashion showcase in July 2015 will host an impressive list of South African and African men’s fashion designers, ranging from emerging talent, to the up-and-coming, and the more established designers. Whilst the majority of February’s designers have signed up to showcase their new collections, there are numerous new and established big names joining the schedule for July.  The full schedule of designers will be announced on 01 June 2015.  Join SAMW and be the first to witness fashion forward trends, fresh designers and the launch of new collections.

The SAMW will work alongside the designers to develop business and profiling opportunities. This platform provides African talent to build brands and labels, increase exposure, which supports sales and assists in expanding business by creating job employment.  A focussed marketing platform designed to create and build awareness and demand for designers taking part, SAMW aims to create the next generation of menswear designers.

Craig Port, SAMW

Owner and founder of SA Menswear Week, Ryan Beswick said “We’re building on the success of the February collections, aiming to improve on all areas and develop the next level of African fashion week event.  Taking international best practice and combining it with what works for designers and the industry locally, we must retain our focus on a sound business case, with marketing and promotion opportunities for designers to take their brands to the next level”.

More details to follow closer to the date!

CSquared, SAMW

Image Credit: Simon Deiner / SDR Photo 

Introducing the Nike Air Max 90 OG ‘Infrared’

The Nike Air Max 90 OG “Infrared” is returning this month to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the iconic Nike Air Max 90 silhouette. We have seen quite a few dope colourways this year to celebrate the anniversary.

This silhouette features premium materials whereby the upper consists of a white mesh base, with a grey suede overlay and black leather detailing. Infrared accents complete the edition on the tongue tag, back heel, eyelets, midsole and outsole.

The sneaker will be available from various retailers.

Events: Soweto Fasion Week AW15 – Platform for South Africa’s Upcoming Fashion Designers

From Wednesday, 27 May 2015 to Saturday, 30 May 2015, South Africa’s upcoming fashion designers will showcase their striking AW15 Fall collections at the renowned Soweto Fashion Week. The showcase will run for three days at the exquisite newly developed Soweto Theatre.

Themed BlackWhite, Soweto Fashion Week (SFW) 2015 promises to set the bar high and celebrate South African Fashion Designers irrespective of their racial or political affiliation. The Soweto Fashion Week platform prides itself for developing and recognizing 55 local designers to date and aim to develop more young upcoming fashion designers with the help from Darling Hair as their platinum sponsor for two years in running. This dynamic partnership aims to uplift the Soweto community through fashion and hairstyling. By this, not only aspiring fashion designers can be hopeful, but aspiring hairstylists as well.

Darling Hair in partnership with Soweto Fashion Week is set to premier 10 new hairstylists’ careers by giving them a platform to join the official hair team at the SFW AW15 showcase. The Darling Hair Competition is a yearly open competition for aspiring hairstylists, 10 are chosen, trained and equipped with the necessary tools to become professional hairstylists each year.

Soweto Fashion Week had a great run in 2014, landing the sponsorship with Darling Hair, partnering with eTV show Rhythm City and been named one of the top 10 events and attractions to visit in Johannesburg by Joburg Tourism. “Its great to have Soweto Fashion Week to be recognised amongst some of Johannesburg’s premium events, such as Africa Fashion Week, Taste of Joburg, The Sansui Cup, etc. Over the past three years a lot of work has been put into building the Soweto Fashion Week brand and we are glad that the brand is being recognised on such a scale”, said Soweto Fashion Week founder and director, Stephen Manzini. This year the organisation aims to elevate the brand (event) and continue to uplift the Soweto community.

Soweto Fashion Week is set to host an illustrative Press Event on Wednesday, 27 May, aiming to give the designers an opportunity to present their AW15 Fall collections and interact with the media. The Buyers Lounge will be incorporated into the last schedule of each day, providing media and buyers with the opportunity to fully experience the designers’ showcase. This is a platform created to drive the business of fashion, the Buyers Lounge enables the designers to connect with the various buyers and understand what is required from a business perspective.

Tickets are R60 per person per show, and are available from the Soweto Fashion Week website as well as on Computicket and at Shoprite Checkers Nationwide.

Prada Enters Into The South African Luxury Market

Image Credit: Sandton City Facebook

Prada opens its first store in Johannesburg, South Africa, inside the prestigious Sandton City Mall shopping centre.

The space, designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi, covers a total surface area of 800 square metres and houses the women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, leather goods, accessories and footwear collections.

The internal façade, of remarkable visual impact, stretches approximately 65 metres in length and with its elegant geometry results the focus of the “Diamond Walk”: a backlit white canvas curtain enclosed in a crystal box creates a sophisticated atmosphere. Black marble frames border the entrances, windows and light boxes, lending a precious flair to the space.

The entrance to the area dedicated to the women’s collection opens on a large octagonal space characterised by the signature black-and-white marble chequered flooring – a legacy of Prada’s identity worldwide – and green fabric-clad walls, which serve as a backdrop for sleek polished steel display cases embellished with black Marquinia marble chests of drawers.

From here, the visitor is led to two spaces defined by black marble-clad walls with cut-in alcoves dedicated to the display of exquisite leather goods, accessories and bijoux.

The areas devoted to the women’s ready-to-wear and footwear collections are separated by a green fabric curtain; elegant transparent perspex display units showcase the women’s ready- to-wear collections. The space housing women’s footwear is characterised by crystal and polished steel display niches, beige carpeting, fine crystal tables and green velvet sofas, to welcome customers in an elegant and refined atmosphere.

The area offering the men’s collection features masculine materials and finishes: slim Saint-Laurent marble floorboards and walls featuring bright orange encaustic painting. The first room is dedicated to the leather goods and accessories collections: precious polished steel display cases exalt the product.

A mirror portal leads to the spaces where the men’s ready-to-wear and footwear collections are displayed: polished steel counters with coloured saffiano leather elements and green ostrich leather sofas complete the setting.

Store Details:

PRADA – Santon City

Store number: U18

Operating Hours

Weekdays: 9am-8pm

Saturday: 9am-8pm

Sunday: 9am-6pm

Public Holidays: 9am-6pm

Maximum Cooling. The Revolution Continues – adidas Climachill Now In Sleek Black!

Realising that when it comes to performance, every degree matters, the new adidas Climachill black t-shirt helps you perform at your very best by regulating body temperature to remain cool in adverse conditions. Launched globally in April, the revolution continues through new age design and cotton-like material for maximum cooling.

Not only sleek in design and aesthetics, the new adidas Climachill t-shirt is also at the forefront of active-cooling technology. How? Thanks to its instant-cool sensation and advanced heat and moisture transfer capabilities, it assists athletes of all levels to train harder and run longer, with a direct positive outcome on their overall focus and performance. Put through the paces, the new Climachill black t-shirt is endorsed by professional international athletes, including footballer Gareth Bale and tennis star, Simona Halep.

The adidas Climachill range has been revolutionary in active cooling technology due to its uniquely engineered design profile: industry-first 3D aluminum-cooling spheres are strategically located on the back and neck to correspond with the warmest area of the body, and provide an instant cooling sensation on contact. A microfibre fabric allows the garment to act like mesh and transports excess moisture away from your skin. The revolutionary SubZero flat yarn contains titanium and maximises surface contact with skin, transferring more heat away from the body.

Maarten Hupperets, Director Future Sport Science at adidas explains why it is important to consider body temperature during working out: 'Activity in high ambient temperatures offers a particular challenge to the human thermoregulatory system. Humans strive to maintain a stable body core temperature of about 37°C. In response to exercise, as metabolic demand and heat production increases, the body core temperature can increase to 3°C in warm ambient conditions. To maintain a stable body core temperature, the human body will make efforts to lose excess heat. Climachill line has been rigorously tested in our state-of-the-art Clima chamber as high as 122° F/ 50° C exactly to find the best possible answer to facilitate body cooling. We are confident that out innovation and coolest t-shirt ever helps athletes of every level keep their peak optimum temperature to perform at their best in any conditions.'

For more information, visit adidas.com/climachill, and follow the conversation on Twitter and Instagram with @adidasZA #climachill & #uncontrolyourself.

RBA, Autumn/Winter 2015 Lookbook - Human is Beautiful

RBA (Rebellious Blessed African) specializes in street wear and fashion accessories. For Autumn/Winter 2015, they bring us a range of quality bucket hats, five panels and well-made snapbacks.

The brand’s campaign for 2015 is titled ‘Human is Beautiful’. This season the brand aims to shade light into the human beauty since we are overcrowded with negative narrative stories such as racism, xenophobia, classism, homophobia and sexism. The brand aims to inspire everyone with a positive outlook.

Peep RBA’s Lookbook for this season below:

The A/W 2015 ‘Human is Beautiful’ collection have 6 different snapback styles, 4 five panels styles and 5 bucket-hats styles. They have used heavy fabrics as pleather, light cork as well as light cotton to accommodate their five panels.

RBA was founded by Etienne Kankolongo in August 2013. For more information and to shop the A/W 2015 collection visit www.rba.com.

The Union Bar and Hendrick’s Gin - a Distinctly Odd Pairing

The Union / Hendrick’s Gin Pop Up Bar opened its doors, with the exclusive launch held on 23 April 2015, on the corner of Oxford and Chaplin Street in Illovo (inside the Norman Goodfellows Warehouse).

The Union Bar is taking the Pop Up experience back to Victorian England, resurrecting the oddness of the time with Hendrick’s Gin. Known for its unusual brand imagery, Hendrick’s is a premium gin, made with a number of unusual twists, to deliver a most curious arrangement.

Unlike ordinary gins, Hendrick’s is distilled in Scotland and is actually the marriage of TWO Gins. Only Hendrick’s is made with infusions of Cucumber and Rose petals, producing a wonderfully refreshing gin with a delightfully floral aroma, and is handcrafted in miniscule batches of only 450 litres at a time.

This unusual brand ethos is being brought to life by The Union Bar in the most peculiar way, launching the experience with performers, an adult Carnival Playground, over-the-top, selfie-friendly set designs and of course an entire cocktail menu inspired by the alchemy and pure inventiveness of the Victorian era.

The exclusive cocktail menu was designed by five of the country’s top mixologists, as well as a specialist bartender from Hong Kong. The traditional warehouse is transformed into a truly unusual space courtesy of the expert décor and design of the legendary Union Bar – this should be a journey of discovery not to be missed.

To find out more about this unique experience, please visit www.theunionbar.co.za or contact info@theuniobar.co.za Visit www.hendricksgin.com for a most unusual online experience, or perhaps a taste of what to expect.

The Union / Hendrick’s Gin Pop Up Bar will only be open for just under three months, until 12 July 2015.

Drop in and experience the unusual, the exquisite and the peculiar for yourself!