Friday 18 October 2013

Into Vanity x Fur


Anyone who knows me personally would know how much of a vain creature I am. As much as I am a street fashion blogger but my love for high-end fashion is undeniable. It’s like how much Kanye loves fashion yet he’s a coveted rapper and at most you’d hardly expect a person in the hip hop game blatantly come out as a fashion fundi like he has. Most of us have had that moment when we see a superstar struts around in a music video in that oversized jacket looking all Cruella De’Ville vain in fur. Some have even gone to the lengths of trying it out ourselves. Well due to the fact that some of us cannot afford that designer label version of the jacket we then had to try out the next best option available which doesn’t seem like a bad idea when the holy creature is still styled to kill on a mannequin. Only when we’ve worn it once or twice and after a few visits to the laundry do we see it looking like an orphaned anorexic squirrel on a rainy day then we realize maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all.
               
So where am I taking this exactly? Well in my time for self-torture which just so happen to give me joy I have been seeing hints of fur here and there. Earlier in the year Johannesburg based brand AMEN Couture unveiled it range of pure fur. From jackets to scarves and collars I found myself drooling (on both the clothes and the models hahaha). I’ve also seen a lot of my so ever fashioning girls with their clutches and handbags some with just trimmings of fur and others fully adorned with it. A few months back on one of my adventures in the city I also saw fashion-forward girls rocking chinchilla jackets which for some reason always makes me sing “Own it, but don't kill her! My jewellers are diamond rollers! My rock... chinchilla! Some more raw fun, I'm rolling like rock stars
                                                        
Okay to face facts we all know we cannot be rocking fur vests or jackets in the summer heat of South Africa but I can promise to get myself one of these ‘self-love-creature items’ for next season. Note for anyone willing to join me on my Phresh off the Runway moments in fur just try not to wear both animal print and fur like you might as well go to the nearest zoo and get yourself a cage.

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Monday 14 October 2013

Hail The Cross Seasonal Beanie

                                                
For today's post I went into my archives and found some photos from a photo shoot I had a few months back with a dear mate of mine Thembi Mthembu of the Facebook page Lens Maniac. For this shoot well I didn't really go totally all out since I only pulled out a few items from my wardrobe basically my everyday look. Any one who knows me will know the love and pride i have for the 90's and more specifically the grunge era, after all I am a 90's babe.


Today I chose to focus not on the overall styling for the shoot but on the beanie. Well beanies have been trending like red velvet cup cakes this year from super model Cara Delevingne to the global pop singing sensation Rihanna who also loved this head gear so much as to make it part of her A/W collection for Rihanna for River Island.
I know some of you might be asking yourselves why am I busy talking about an item which is suitable for winter? Shoot me if you have to but I feel this trending item isn't about to go collect dust on our closets. Any day you can come up with a new excuse to rock your styling beanie. The one I'm rocking here is a black studded beanie lined with a piece of chiffon (for that prima-donna of the gutter feel) which I had made myself.

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Friday 11 October 2013

DUT Fashion Show 2013


The DUT Annual Fashion Show is an event created and hosted by the Fashion and Textiles Department from Durban University of Technology. This prestigious event is created as a stage where the 3rd year students from the Fashion and Textiles Department get to showcase their first collections before they graduate and have to face the fashion industry at it's raw form. Industry insiders and the who's who of fashion are all invited to this event.
The DUT Fashion Show always looks into showcasing the best talent this institution has groomed. 2013 was no different if not tons better. The show happened over a period of 3 days from the 2nd of October to the 4th (I don't know if the organizers wanted to be in time with the global fashion month as it was happening while Joburg was having SAFashionWeek? Well that's a subject for another day)

For designers who are just emerging and are still to be recognized the 3rd year students are required to put their best foot forward and my! did they deliver.
To avoid sounding bias in any way I must say some designers were rather too predictable by following some of the already overdone trends but obviously you'll always have one of those creative sparks who leave everyone at awe and one of those sparks was the AMAZING Nqobile Mdletshe with her Ndebele inspired collection which tells a story of metamorphism of a Ndebele girl. Mdletshe's collection captured what I call African Couture. She was one of the designers who's collection was out of the box yet so 'home made'. And seemingly I was not the only one who had recognized Mdletshe's high form of artistry as she won the very first ever "Judges' Recognition Award in the history of the event. The show has only five categories and Mdletshe's praise-worthy collection created the sixth category. Will she be the first and last designer to win this award only time will tell and the future designers.


Other collections that struck my eye were ones from Nicola Foaden who's collection was all monochrome black yet she played around with a lot of textures from luxe leather, fur, to velvets. Benazeer Mulla was also a major sport also sending down her menswear models in all black. Mulla's aesthetic seems to lie on symbolism of Egypt. She had played around with a lot of layers for her symbolic-sport chic collection. All this saw her taking away the award for Most Innovative Range, further proving street style to be bigger than some of us may think.
This year's DUT Fashion Show proved to be a must attend typa event.

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Monday 7 October 2013

Breakfast Affairs

                                                  
Hangover from some mean place probably called Hell after hours at a shoot and some celebration the previous night. My friends Melo (who was debuting her new black and white Nike Air Max) and my ever so stylish sweety-pops Kanya reckon it's been a minute since we actually got together and had some healthy food without some booze (hahaha). So we got up and threw on whatever we could find on our wardrobes.

Melo dressed in a lovely floral dress, bowler hat, Nike Air Max and threw in a straw bag at it. I must say this was one of my favorite looks from this lovely lady, the most beautiful thing about her is that she always know how to choose clothes which work well with her silhouette and always dares to flirt with color.
Kanya is not your oh so typical type of fashion loving girl. She just knows how to #werkIt, a true fashion daredevil I tell you. Here she chose to dress up in her mini dungaree dress, grey crop top, snap back and a hot pair of gold trimmed shades.


Well I was minimal monochrome vibes, I opted for black skinny jeans, a white over sized tee, vintage shades and a vanity case just for control (hahaha). Like I had said this wasn't one of those premeditated fashion moments just minimalist hangover styling. Who knew breakfast could be so fashionable?



Hey don't forget to drop a comment, I love hearing from you guys. Tell me what accessories you mad for this Spring/Summer '13 season? Also follow me on Instagram and Twitter: @KingElihleLee   

Thursday 3 October 2013

Tweeps x Soweto Pride



                   "Don't lose who you are in the blur of the stars!
                      Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing,
                      It's okay not to be okay...
                      Sometimes it's hard to follow your heart.
                      Tears don't mean you're losing..."


This past Saturday was the highly anticipated Soweto Pride. The Pride is a parade for people of the LGBTI community, where everyone celebrates their sexuality and also commemorates the memories of those who have lost their lives simply because they were brave enough to be true to who they were and have been fighting for the rights of equality. To celebrate this the LGBTI community comes out at it majority to be together and be jolly.
If one has attended an event of this nature one would know that FASHION is the forefront of everything. After all gay men have been said to be the most stylish breed. How true is this? Well let's say you can always watch, learn and make your own verdict.

Here we see a dear mate of mine who goes by the name Tino Mathej. Personally I had a moment of feeling that this guy's style is a stab to my existence. I vividly remember the day he came to me so excited in August telling me what he plans to wear and I approved but little did I know how on point his execution will be. Here he's posing with a mate of his Vincent in a denim dungaree.

Then we have the outspoken Tshidi. A young man who asks for no permission to voice out his thoughts and might I add he's thoughts are sometimes not so popular but that doesn't faze him one bit. Here he's with a stylish lad named Shana Nkosi. They're both in time with one of this season's trend; rocking stripes of different dimensions. Its monochrome galore.
Well here you have it ladies and gentlemen my super rad tweeps at the Soweto Pride.
          "Rejoice and love yourself today
          'cause baby you were born this way"

Tuesday 1 October 2013

Tempracha x Street Fashion Basics


At most street fashion is about individuals making their mark on the streets. Its may have inspirations from a lot of eclectic aspects; be it an era of the past or that is to come, people, culture, and nature. In the past years till recent times when we head off to the big runways you'd find major labels sending collections with hints and bits of street style but its very rare to find a label which looks into dedicating itself to street fashion. UMlazi's very own Sanele Cele has chosen to be one of those few brands that serve for that purpose, lets hear what he had to say when we had a chat with him about everything fashion and of course Tempracha.

1. Why "Tempracha"? And how did the name come up?
  " A lot of people have defined what appeals to their fashion personae and what influences their style and they always base it on they feelings and surroundings and forget the most important one ,the "temperature" it defines your weather ,changes the textures of your clothes and how short or long will you rock it, so we're that element sets what you will wear."

> 2. When did you start envisioning yourself as a fashion designer? Was it something that happened at young stage or it came spontaneously?
 Came at a young age use to love sketching a lot,and my mom's love for fashion and selling clothes,had a hand in me drawing cartoons who had highly detailed clothing,so all those elements had a hand in me creating who I am today .

> 3. So what's has been Tempracha's highlights so far?
  styling a sport Mathambo video in 2012 ,working with New balance as an ambassador and working Okmalumkoolkat ,and working with KingADZ a London based writer ,strategist,videographer,and having him as a mentor is a blessing man.There is a lot to count ,but to me all has been my highlight .

> 4. Who's your favorite designer locally and internationally?
  David Tlale and internationally Jeff Staple

> 5. Your views on South Africa's Street fashion?
  There are a couple of brands I respect ,but the rest is just exaggerate ,I've lost a lot of love for South African street fashion and they lack of respect for fashion.

> 6. What's in store for fashionistas from Tempracha 2014?
1st and foremost good clothes,and to those who respect and love the brand they can expect immense growth and us crossing borders still paying attention to little details and quality.

Here you have it boys and girls Sanele Cele of Tempracha has spoken. Looks like 2014 is already gonna becoming an interesting and mind you its only October.
Drop a comment tell us what's your favorite local brand and anything about this interview.