Last weekend, South Africa held their fashion week and I must say a trip to Cape Town is definitely in the offing in the near future. Take a look at these photos:

Evan Schiff of Africa Fashion International, which runs the event said, “We have got the vision in this country. Internationally people have been using Africa as an inspiration for years. It is time for African designers to benefit, Traditionally the only stories coming out of Africa are of war, famine and despots. We are trying to put something else out there. There are lots of beautiful things coming out of here…”

I couldn’t agree more. You constantly hear about war, famine, poverty and all types of atrocities. There are some thriving African nations and fashion tends to be an international language. It’s not as if you can simply say, ok, we’ll see a bunch of saris and wraps, head scarves and that’s an African fashion week event. It truly is a cosmopolitan society in South Africa and what you’ll find in the near future is that the fashions may make their way around the world and to a store near you.

Marc Bouwer is one of the more prolific designers of our day. Creating a variety of pieces for the high street, for QVC (M for Marc Bouwer) and for Hollywood. Now South Africa’s native son returns home for completely altruistic reasons. Bouwer has come out in full support of Sun International’s POSI+IVE an event that melds fashion, art, music and cuisine all to benefit Sun International’s HIV-Aids initiatives the Tapologo Aids Hospice, Noah, St Michael’s and the Missionvale Care Centre in South Africa.

There’s nothing like a catfight to warm up the catwalks

Stilettos fly this week as long time rivalries, Sanlam South African Fashion Week (SSAFW) and Nokia Cape Town fashion Week continue to despise one another. For years the two fashion weeks have been at each others throats regarding whether or not South Africa should have 2 fashion weeks (both of which occur at nearly the same time and use the same primary venue) and which one should represent South Africa. SSAFW is accused of luring designers away from NCTFW and for committing other catty crimes fit for a day time talk show (I won’t go into details as this would delve into “rumor” territory and iPapier does not DO rumors darling.) Meanwhile, fashion designers seem to be getting more and more frustrated as the battle continues. Many claim that this rivalry is taking the spotlight off of the designers and creating more emphasis on the corporate end of the business. Tisk Tisk! So much talent comes from this unsaturated industry. Tisk, tisk!
If you’re interested in reading more about Africa’s budding fashion industry then check out Fashioning Africa.